Another Piece
by Doc Professor
Summary: You have One Piece, but now here's Another Piece! The alternate version of Eiichiro Oda's brilliant masterpiece! T for swearing and violence.
1. Aboard the Orbit

Another Piece

Written By: Smerph Greenfox

Disclaimer: All characters, unless otherwise noted, are copyright of Eichiiro Oda.

Chapter 1: Aboard the Orbit

22 years ago, the former Pirate King, Gold Roger was executed. It was a grand ceremony for the King. He smiled proudly as he marched down the road that led to the platform he was to be executed on.

He was a powerful man, not just due to his vast wealth and massive crew, but his physical stature was nothing to put down. Standing straight up, he almost reached seven feet. Just an inch or so away... His physical strength was something else, and he loved to show it off. His favorite trick when he stopped at a bar for a drink was lifting as many tables as he could with one hand. His max was set in some bar whose name he couldn't recall on some island whose location he couldn't remember. He had a terrible memory for things like that.

Forty-two tables. But on that day, he claimed he could lift more than that. His arm was sore because he just got done arm wrestling everyone in another bar. Or so he said.

No one could tell if he was lying or not. He kept that a secret.

He grinned to himself, recalling that story. A gust of wind suddenly picked up, and it blew the straw hat he was wearing off of his head. Roger frowned. He was kind of looking forward to dying with that hat on his head. It landed somewhere in the crowd, at the feet of a small red haired boy. He looked down in awe. He quickly picked it up, pushed his way through the crowd, and called out to the King.

"GOLD ROGER! Your hat!" He cried out.

Roger cleared his throat, indicating that he wanted the guards who were leading him to the platform to stop. He turned around, and saw the boy trembling, holding the hat tightly in his hands.

He chuckled. "And who are you, my red haired friend?"

"Sh-Shanks..." The boy said nervously. "Mr. Roger, I'm your-I mean, you're my hero."

"I am? Well, thank you! It's good to know I have a fan!" He looked up at the sky. "Hm. Maybe it's just me, but I think this day just got a bit sunnier." He looked back down at the boy. "Keep the hat, lad. And make sure nothing happens to it! I really like that hat!" With that, he stood up, proudly, and continued marching towards the platform.

The boy was in awe. His hero had just left him with a memoir.

It was there that Shanks vowed to become a great pirate captain. One who would make Gold Roger proud. He grinned widely and looked up to see the Pirate King walk away.

He arrived on the platform soon after, knelt down, grinned, and asked his executioners if he could have a last word.

They complied, and Gold Roger cleared his throat.

"Inherited will. The destiny of the age and the dreams of its people. These will not be stopped. As long as people continue to pursue the meaning of freedom, THEY WILL NEVER CEASE TO BE!" He yelled triumphantly.

The crowd was silenced by his words. How could he say such a thing? With such bravery? Did he still fear nothing even on the site of his death?

A lone man in the crowd took advantage of the Pirate King's bravery. "YOUR TREASURE! WHERE IS IT!"

Gold Roger was taken aback slightly. "My treasure? You really want to know? Very well, I suppose there's no sense in hiding it." He chuckled lightly. "It's on the Grand Line. Don't worry, it's in one piece. But good luck getting there! You'll need one HELL of a crew to get THERE!" With that, he burst into uproarious laughter. But it wasn't a taunting laughter, as if he were mocking the attempts of the future pirates who would hunt for his treasure. No, it was more of a content laughter. The kind made by a man who had accomplished all he wanted to do, and thought that being executed was a silly way to end his life. Almost as if he were saying "Well, it's been fun! But, it's time for me to go!"

With that, he died, laughing a ridiculous, monkeylike laugh.

But, ten years later, Monkey D. Luffy was not thinking about Gold Roger's words. He wasn't thinking about the One Piece, or anything even close to that. Why?

He was too busy being scared.

The black haired, five year old boy had snuck onto the passenger ship Orbit with his older brother Ace, in order to escape that cruel orphanage they had to live in since their parents died shortly after Luffy was born. For the first few days, the sails were full and the seas were calm. But on the fourth day out at sea, a violent storm threatened to sink the ship.

Luffy and Ace clung tightly to the railing on the deck, trying to make their way to a lifeboat. Suddenly, amidst the panicked screams, a shout from the crow's nest made them look up.

"IT'S RED SHOES ZEFF! BACK FROM THE GRAND LINE!"

Luffy had no idea who that was, but Ace looked very concerned.

"Luf, stay close to me, alright? Red Shoes Zeff is one helluva pirate." Ace said and hugged his brother tightly. Luffy was slightly taken aback. Ace had never sworn in front of him before. Even though Ace had four years on the little kid, Luffy still thought he was too young to swear.

As Zeff's pirates raided the ship, Luffy suddenly saw a little blonde haired boy with two knives in his hands. He recognized the boy. Yesterday, while he was sneaking food from the kitchen to quiet his never-full stomach, he saw the boy yelling at the cooks about something.

_"NO! IT EXISTS! THERE'S NOT A CHANCE IN HELL A PLACE LIKE THAT CAN'T EXIST! NO ONE COULD MAKE UP THE ALL BLUE!"_ _The boy yelled angrily._

_The cooks laughed mockingly. "Sanji, Sanji, Sanji... It's a fairy tale. There's no way it exits..."They tried to convince him. "Now, come on, get back to work. One of the chefs tried to take his arm to lead him back to the sink full of dishes._

_The boy pushed the chef's hand away. "SHUT UP! I'M GONNA PROVE IT TO YOU ONE DAY! YOU'LL SEE!" He turned around in a huff and stormed towards the door, walking right past Luffy._

_The chefs saw Luffy standing innocently with a half-eaten apple in his hands._

_"HEY! What are you doing in here? The kitchen's off-limits to passengers!"_

Waves crashed into the ship, causing Ace and Luffy to lose their balance. Luffy's eyes remained transfixed on the blonde boy. What exactly was he fighting this pirate for? Even Ace was afraid of this pirate, and Ace wasn't afraid of anything. Not even snakes, and those were the scariest things Luffy had ever seen.

"I ain't gonna die here!" He yelled, and charged Zeff. Zeff calmly kicked the boy into a pile of empty barrels, but the boy got back up. "I'M GONNA FIND THE ALL BLUE!" He charged again, and almost as if it were on cue, a huge wave crashed onto the deck. The force of the water ripped Luffy from Ace's arms and he was flung into the ocean.

"LUUUUUFFY!" He heard Ace yell as he crashed into the water. He saw the blonde boy fall with him, and saw Zeff dive in after him. He was confused as to why the so-called fierce pirate would save that boy's life, even after he just attacked him.

Luffy swam awkwardly to a plank of wood and clung to it for dear life. He looked up and saw Ace being pulled into a lifeboat, still screaming for his brother.

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Good intro, no?

I hope so, at least. I worked hard on it.


	2. New Home

Another Piece

Written By: Smerph Greenfox

Disclaimer: All characters, unless otherwise noted, are copyright of Eichiiro Oda.

Chapter 2: New Home

Luffy stirred from his sleep.

_Huh... That was weird. Wasn't I in the water?_ His eyes adjusted to the light shining on him, and he looked at his surroundings. He found himself in a very comfy bed, in a small bedroom. It was daytime, he could tell from the sun shining through the window, and he wondered how long he had been asleep.

An older man entered the room and his eyes widened when he saw Luffy sitting up. "You're awake!" He turned back towards the room he just entered from and yelled "He's awake!"

"Ossan... Where am-" Luffy started, still a bit groggy.

"Whoa, whoa, let me ask the questions first, alright? Who are you? What were you doing floating in the sea like that? You scared us all to death!" The man interrupted.

Luffy's eyes finally focused, and he got a good look at the man talking to him.

He was tall, and thin. He had what were once wild, young eyes, but they seemed tame now. His hair was blonde and curly, and he had a thin goatee that gave him a dirty and unkempt appearance.

"Oh, I'm Luffy. Where's Ace?" Luffy said matter-of-factly.

"Ace? Who's that? You were the only one we found." The man said, confused.

Luffy suddenly sprung from the bed. "WHAT! No, that can't be right! He told me not to get separated! He's gotta be here!" He yelled.

"Goodness, what's the commotion in here?" A kindhearted voice asked. The man stepped aside and a woman walked into the room. She was older, already developing faint wrinkles. Despite that, she was a very beautiful woman. The only thing that really stood out was her long, pointy nose.

"Oh, what are you doing out of bed?" She asked Luffy. "You've been out for a day now!"

"Miss, you gotta help me! I'm looking for my brother, Ace!" Luffy yelled.

The woman sighed. "I'm sorry, dear. I don't know where he his. Maybe if you tell me where you last saw him..." She trailed off.

Luffy rubbed his chin and appeared to be in deep thought. "Okay, I guess I don't have a choice. Ace told me not to tell anyone about this, so if he gets mad, you gotta tell him it was the only thing I could do."

The woman chuckled lightly. "Okay, sweetie. Tell us your story."

Luffy cleared his throat. "My name is Monkey D. Luffy. My brother's name is Portgas D. Ace. We snuck onto this big ship called the Orbit 'cause the place we were staying at was really bad and we didn't have enough belli to pay for a ticket, an' we don't have any parents to pay for it, but that's okay because Ace is old enough to take care of me. And everything was really good at the start, but there was this baaaad storm and next thing I know, I fell overboard and-"

Luffy was interrupted again, this time by the gasps of both the woman and the man.

"The... The Orbit?" The man stuttered.

"Yasopp, go and get that newspaper!" The woman said. The man nodded and ran out the room. "You're sure it was the Orbit, Luffy?"

Luffy nodded childishly. "I know it was, 'cause Ace told me it got the name 'cause it was so fast, it could go around the world really fast, and that's called a orbit."

Yasopp reentered the room with a newspaper in his hand. "Yes, it's right here. Front page. 'Passenger Ship Orbit Sinks'. This thing has to be two days old... Says here it was attacked by the Zeff Pirates?" He asked Luffy.

Luffy's eyes widened as he remembered. "Oh yeah, there was a pirate and Ace told me to stay close to him, but I fell overboard an' I can't swim." He didn't say anything for a while, until he realized what Yasopp had just said. "IT SANK! DID ACE MAKE IT OFF ALRIGHT!"

Yasopp scanned the newspaper. "Lessee... Here's a list of the survivors... You said his name was Portgas D. Ace?" Luffy nodded. "No, I don't see it... I'm sorry."

"Oh, well of course you wouldn't see it listed! Don't you remember? He and Luffy snuck on the ship." The woman said. She turned to Luffy. "Now, dear, do you remember exactly what happened to your brother when you last saw him?"

Luffy tried to remember. "Uh, I saw this old Ossan pull him away when I was in the water. I think he worked on the ship or something..."

The woman sighed in relief. "Oh, well that's good. The chances are your brother was put on a lifeboat."

Luffy crossed his arms. "Well, that's good. Even if he wasn't it doesn't matter. Ace is really strong. He could swim to shore if he wanted to."

Yasopp looked confused. "Weren't you just worrying about him a second ago?" He said partially to himself.

Something caught Luffy's eye. He noticed standing in the doorway, well more hiding behind the wall, was a young boy with black curly hair, about his age.

"Now, now, Yasopp. The boy is probably delirious and-oh!" The woman felt a tugging on her dress. "Well, HERE you are, Usopp!" She looked down to see the boy hiding behind her.

"Oi, who are you? You're funny looking! You gotta long nose like an anteater!" Luffy said, completely forgetting about Ace for a second.

The woman sighed. "Or maybe he's just stupid." She chuckled lightly.

Usopp became infuriated. "HEY YOU GOT A PROBLEM WITH LONG NOSES!" He yelled. "I oughta beat you up right now!" He grinned proudly. "After all, I'm a pirate!"

Luffy's eyes widened in awe. "Oooh! A pirate! I love pirates! I wanna be one too!"

Usopp laughed loudly. "That's a pretty general reaction when people find out! Come with me, I'll tell you all about my pirating stories!" He headed out the door.

"Now, just a second, Usopp. Luffy here needs his rest." Yasopp said, grabbing the back of Usopp's shirt.

"No way, Ossan. I wanna here his stories." Luffy stated. With that, he walked straight out the door, following Usopp as they headed outside.

"Well, that certainly is one odd-as-hell kid." Yasopp laughed.

His wife thought differently. "I think he's unfortunate. No parents, missing his only brother, oh, I wish there was some way to help him!"

Yasopp rubbed his goatee. "Y'know, I think Usopp once mentioned that he'd really like a brother..."


	3. Red Hair

Another Piece

Written By: Smerph Greenfox

Disclaimer: All characters, unless otherwise noted, are copyright of Eichiiro Oda.

Chapter 3: Red Hair

Author's Notes:

-Sorry, acesgirl22. Our good friend Portgas won't be reappearing until AP Part 2: Grand Line Chronicles. But when he does show his freckled face again, I promise you he'll KICK SOME MAJOR ASS! (So keep reading)

-Just a question I have for my readers. Would you like me to give you a sort-of behind the scenes of AP? Like rejected ideas, previews, "why I did it this way", etc? (I figured I'd do it every third chapter or so.)

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Pirate ships were very rare on Syrup Island. Sure, the now-nine-years-old Luffy and Usopp spent all their time talking about them, and how they wanted to be real pirates and go on adventures, but that's much different from seeing a pirate flag blowing in the wind as a ship landed on your docks.

It was a medium-sized crew that landed. About fifteen or sixteen pirates climbed down onto the dock and marched into the port town. They looked dirty and unorganized. Not to mention they looked starving and very, very tired.

Despite their pathetic appearance, they were still pirates, and the townspeople had every right to be afraid. The streets were cleared as they approached, and they ambled into the local tavern.

"Good day, ma'am." The captain said.

Makino had mixed emotions as she saw the crew enter her bar. A mixture of confusion, anger, fear, and a bit of sympathy. She wasn't one for confrontation, and she hated getting involved when bar fights broke out. She hoped the pirates would just fill up on alcohol and get on their way.

She was in no way prepared for pirates. It was a slow day anyway, her only customers being the local prankster brothers, Luffy and Usopp. Usopp had just been telling her a story about he and Luffy once traveled across the seas and fought a giant dinosaur with only their wits about them. But, he instantly shut his mouth when the pirates entered.

"Hello? Are you open?" The captain asked.

Makino hesitated. "Um, y-yes. We're open. T-take a seat." She stuttered.

"Don't mind if we do." The captain responded. His crew sat at the tables, while he took a seat on a barstool in front of the counter, right next to the seats Luffy and Usopp had taken. "Some ale for me and my crew, please." He removed his straw hat and put it on the chair next to him.

_Well, at least he's polite. I just hope Luffy and Usopp don't do anything to make him angry._ She thought as she reached for a few bottles of ale.

She could barely make out the words, but she distinctly heard Luffy and Usopp whispering something while she served the pirates their alcohol.

"You have any idea who that is?"

"No, but he looks scary. Maybe we should just leave."

"Leave? Come on, Usopp. What kind of pirate are you?"

"A smart one, now let's go."

"Aw, come on. We need to make sure he doesn't attack the village."

"Luffy, Usopp! Shush!" Makino scolded the two boys. "Don't be rude to our... guests..."

The captain took a sip of his drink and looked down at Luffy. "Why, are they talking about me? You know, you shouldn't be rude to pirates." He smiled wickedly. "You have NO idea of what they're capable of."

This did it for the boys. They panicked and jumped from their stools, but not before Luffy accidentally knocked the captain's drink from his hand. Everyone in the bar heard the glass shatter as it hit the ground.

Luffy and Usopp froze. Makino gasped and the captain frowned.

"Aw... That was a good drink, too." He sighed. "Oh well, what are you going to do?" He said, brushing his red hair out of his eyes. "Well, are you going to clean it up, or not?" He said to Luffy.

Luffy shuddered. "C-c-clean it up?"

"Of course! You made the mess, you should be the one to clean it up." He turned to Makino. "A wet rag, please ma'am. It makes picking up the glass easier." She nodded and ran off to get a rag.

Luffy was still shuddering, and Usopp cowered behind him.

"Ha! I was joking about the whole 'what we're capable of' thing!" He laughed. "Easy, little guys. We aren't here to hurt anyone. Just filling up on some booze and getting some supplies."

Makino returned with a rag, and handed it to Luffy. He nervously bent down and paused, not knowing what to do.

"Whoa, whoa, easy." The captain knelt down with him. "Pick up the biggest pieces first, so you don't cut yourself on them." He carefully picked up a few large shards of glass and looked up at Makino. "Do you have a garbage bin, ma'am?" She pointed in the direction of the bin, and the captain promptly threw the glass away.

Meanwhile, Luffy wiped up the ale with the rag, along with the smaller bits of glass. He stood up and Makino took the rag from him.

"There we are, all set." The captain said, grinning. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver coin. He set it on the counter and said "Sorry about that, ma'am. Is this enough to pay for a new glass?"

"N-n-no, that's quite alright. No need to pay me." She said nervously.

The captain frowned. "Oh, but I insist. I feel terrible about what happened." He pushed the coin towards her.

The crew finished their ale, got up, pushed their chairs in, attempted to clean the tables as well as they could, but seeing as they were... well, not the brightest ones around when it came to keeping things in order, the tables weren't exactly spotless.

The captain paid Makino, leaving a much bigger tip than necessary and he and his crew headed out the door, thanking the barmaid for her service.

As they left, they laughed and chatted amongst themselves.

"That must have been the best ale I've had in a while!"

"So, Cap' whadja think of that barmaid? Pretty cute, huh?"

"Aw, Lucky, knock it off."

"Come on, you should ask her out."

"Lucky..."

The captain stopped walking. "Hey, guys, I'll catch up with you. I need to... do something."

"I knew it! He's gonna-"

"I'm not asking her out, Lucky."

A fat man wearing goggles slumped down, dejected, and walked off, shouting "You should!"

The captain laughed nervously, looking at Makino. "Heh, sorry about my crew. They're a bit... crazy."

"Is there something else I can help you with, sir?"

"Shanks."

"Excuse me?"

The captain tipped his straw hat. "My name is Shanks. I just, uh, wanted to tell you that we're sorta planning on staying here for a little while. Y'see, we just left our old base because the marines were going to attack it, and we didn't want innocent people getting hurt. I promise you, we're not like those other pirates." He assured.

Makino paused. "Oh, I see. Um, thank you for telling me, sir. You don't really seem like the type who would... um... She trailed off, letting Shanks fill in the blank.

"What, attack you? Steal things? Heh, we don't do that kind of stuff. We're pirates, yes, but we're more about the _adventure_, rather than the crime."

There was a brief silence, as Luffy and Usopp watched the two adults talk. They decided it was best to stay quiet while the two of them discussed important things.

It was safe to say that Luffy began to think of this new pirate differently. When Shanks said he was about the adventure, something clicked. Luffy, in his simple mind, found something in common with another pirate, and that made him happy. Usopp, on the other hand, still didn't know what to make of the red haired man in the doorway.

"Well, I guess I'll get going now. My crew's probably waiting for me. Uh, I'll see you around?" Shanks asked, smiling weakly.

"Um, I guess so. Th-thank you for stopping by." Makino hesitated.

Shanks walked out the door, clearly thinking about what his crewmate said earlier.

Luffy grinned widely. "Wow... a real pirate..."

"Oi, weren't you just scared out of your mind a minute ago?" Usopp asked him.

"Yeah, but that was before I learned that he's all about the adventure."

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(For my fans of Kingdom Hearts: Remix Edition, I'd like to take the time right now to say I haven't forgotten about that project. I'll post chapter 8 soon enough. Patience, my friends.)


	4. Gomu Gomu Fruit

Another Piece

Written By: Smerph Greenfox

Disclaimer: All characters, unless otherwise noted, are copyright of Eichiiro Oda.

Chapter 4: Gomu Gomu Fruit

Author's Notes:

Coming soon: Luffy and Usopp encounter a foe verrrry familiar to OP fans.

Coming not as soon: New crewmates! Familiar faces and maybe some not-so-familiar ones.

Coming quite a ways away: CROSSOVERS! With who, though? You'll just have to wait...

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"Okay, so there we were, alright? I'm telling you, this shark was huge! And Luffy was all 'Oh, brave Captain Usopp-Sama! Stop him for me, because I can't swim!'" Young Usopp said, holding his arms out and rocking back and forth on the stool he was sitting on.

"Really? Is this true, Luffy?" Shanks asked him, amused.

"Not a chance! I'm Monkey D. Luffy! I'm not gonna back down from some stupid shark, no matter how big it is!" Luffy punched the air. "Besides, I've been trainin'! I'm super-strong now!" To prove his strength, he began fighting invisible foes until Makino emerged from the back room.

"Luffy! Calm down! You're going to break something again..." She sighed. "I'm sorry about that, Shanks."

Shanks laughed heartily. "No need to apologize, Makino-Chan. My, you're looking wonderful today." He commented.

"Aww, you flatter me." She said playfully.

"What, I can't compliment you?" Shanks asked innocently

Makino giggled. "Shanks, you've told me I look wonderful every time you enter this bar."

Shanks scratched his head. "I have? Well, I guess if I keep saying it, it must be true."

Usopp and Luffy both noticed that Shanks and Makino weren't paying attention to them anymore, so they focused back on the food Shanks had brought back from his trip.

Shanks and his crew had been living on Syrup Island for about a year now. Luffy and Usopp always waited impatiently for their return when they went on long trips. They had gotten into the habit of announcing the Red Hair Pirates' return by running through the streets of the village, yelling "PIRATES!"

"Oi, Luffy. Check out this weird fruit." Usopp whispered, holding up what appeared to be a purple cantaloupe. "Smells kinda funny."

"Ah, I don't like fruit that much." Luffy whispered back. He resumed eating his steak.

A brilliant idea formed in Usopp's head. "Give ya 20 Belli if you eat it." He said slyly.

"Aw, come on. Leave me alone, Usopp." Luffy groaned.

Usopp shrugged. "Okay, then. I guess you aren't as _brave_ as I thought you were. Won't even eat a mystery fruit."

Luffy whipped back and glared at Usopp. He grabbed the fruit out of his hand. "Gimme that! I'm Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm the bravest person on this island!" He ate the entire thing in one bite, and made a disgusted face. "That fruit was disgusting!" He yelled. Usopp laughed.

The entire bar fell silent.

Eerily silent.

"Lu...ff...y..." Shanks slowly turned to face the two kids. "What... fruit?" He asked, a worried look on his face.

"Um, um, um, it was this purple one! It tasted terrible!" Luffy blurted out, terrified.

"WHAAAAAAT?" Shanks yelled. "LUFFY! YOU JUST ATE A DEVIL'S FRUIT!"

Usopp nearly passed out. "Devil's Fruit? Is it poisonous? Is Luffy going to die?" He cried.

Shanks ran his fingers through his hair. "No, it's not poisonous, but it IS dangerous! Devil's Fruits are cursed! They give whoever eats them special powers, but..." He paused, looking very serious.

"BUT WHAT?" Usopp yelled.

"They'll never swim again." Shanks finished.

Usopp fell out of his chair.

Luffy seemed uninterested. "Oh, is that all? I can't swim anyway. No big deal."

Shanks fell out of his chair.

"IT IS A BIG DEAL!" Shanks yelled. "DON'T YOU CARE?"

"What power did I get?" Luffy asked.

Shanks was dumbfounded. _Wow. This kid really lets _nothing_ bother him._ He thought. "It, uh, it was the Gomu Gomu fruit. It means your whole body is now made of rubber." He explained.

Luffy's eyes widened. "REEEEAAALLLYY!" He yelled excitedly. To test it out, he began pulling on his fingers. To his and everyone else's amazement, they began stretching! "WOW! SO COOL!"

The pirates, who had up until now been scared silent, snickered and burst into uproarious laughter.

"That's our Luffy! Fearless to the core!" Lucky Roux cheered.

Luffy continued exploring his newfound powers, pulling on his cheeks and bending his fingers backwards until they touched the back of his hand, causing the pirates to laugh harder.

"Lu-Lu-Luffy!" Usopp suddenly spoke up. "We gotta go! Mom's gonna freak out when she finds out what happened!" He grabbed the back of Luffy's shirt and pulled him off the stool.

"Aw, Mom's not gonna care." Luffy moaned.

Suddenly, an older man came bursting through the door of the bar. "PIRATES! PIRATES HAVE LANDED!" He yelled, panicky.

The entire bar fell silent again. However, this was more out of confusion than fear.

"Um, yes, Charlie. We know. They've been here for quite some time." Makino said, gesturing to the Red Hair pirates in the bar.

Charlie shook his head frantically. "No, a _different_ pirate crew! Their flag has a bear skull on it!"

Makino gasped. "Shanks, do you know-"

Shanks became very serious. "No, I don't." He looked at Charlie. "Go tell everyone to remain calm. Don't provoke them into fighting against the pirates."

Charlie nodded and ran off to warn the villagers. Minutes later, the bar door exploded off its hinges. Usopp pulled Luffy behind the bar's counter and prevented him from doing something stupid.

In the doorway was a fearsome, tall man. He grinned wickedly and laughed.

"Get me a drink, lady." He said.

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Author's Notes: Just for the record, this isn't the familiar foe I mentioned earlier. Three guesses as to who it is, though. The first two don't count.

Next time on Another Piece: A Tearful Promise! Luffy Vows to Be the Pirate King!


	5. The Promise

Another Piece

Written By: Smerph Greenfox

Disclaimer: All characters, unless otherwise noted, are copyright of Eichiiro Oda.

Chapter 5: The Promise

Author's Notes: I heard from a few sources that Usopp's mother is named Baquina. I've never heard the name used outside of these sources, but I'm going to use it when referring to her. Feel free to correct me if the name is incorrect.

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"A drink!" The man yelled again.

Makino snapped to attention and ran into the back room to look for more alcohol.

The man and his crew marched into the bar, grinning wildly. Unlike the peaceful appearance of the Red Hair pirates a year earlier, this was more like an invasion. No one said anything until the man, who Shanks and the others assumed was the captain, sat in the stool next to Shanks.

The stool Shanks' hat was on.

"Excuse me, sir." Shanks said without looking up. "I do believe you're sitting on my hat."

"Oh, am I? How unthoughtful of me." He grinned wickedly, standing up and pushing Shanks' hat off the stool where it floated to the ground. He sat back down, stomping his foot on the hat.

"That's 'thoughtless'." Shanks corrected, not seeming to care about the hat.

Luffy tried to speak up, but Usopp held onto him and pushed his hand over the boy's mouth. "Keep quiet, or we'll end up dead! This guy isn't like Shanks!" He whispered.

"Excuse me?" The captain said. "You say something to me?"

Shanks looked up, a carefree look on his face. "Oh, nothing. I was just correcting you. There's no such word as 'unthoughtful'. It's 'thoughtless'. Which is what you are."

The captain pulled a wanted poster out of his pocket. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO YOU'RE TALKING TO!" He roared. "I'M HIGUMA THE BEAR! My head's worth 45 million Belli!"

Shanks seemed surprised, but he kept his cool. "Well, I'm sure your mother must be proud. Now, if you don't mind, I'm trying to eat. And please stop stepping on my hat. I don't know how many times we must go over this." He sighed.

Higuma fumed, lifting his foot off of Shanks' hat and kicking it towards him. "LISTEN TO ME, ASSHOLE! SHOW SOME DAMN FEAR FOR ONCE!" He swept one of his enormous arms across the bar counter, knocking Shanks' plate off the counter and watched it come crashing onto the floor.

Luffy couldn't take it anymore. He broke free from Usopp's grasp and jumped on top of the counter. "QUIT MAKING FUN OF SHANKS!" He yelled.

Shanks' eyes widened. "Luffy, you idiot! What are you thinking?" He whispered to himself.

"And just who the hell are you?" Higuma asked, stifling laughter.

"Monkey D. Luffy. Quit making fun of Shanks, or I'll kick your ass." Luffy said angrily.

Higuma turned to his crew, and laughed. He suddenly whirled around and punched the boy in the head. He was surprised to find out his fist hurt a lot more than it should when you punch a ten year old boy in the head.

"What the hell?" He mumbled.

"That... won't work..." Luffy said, amazed that it didn't hurt that much. "Because I'm made of rubber."

"Rubber? Oh, you're a Devil's Freak, aren't you?" Higuma growled. "Bastard. I'll kill you for thinking you can boss me around."

Makino ran from the back room to see what happened. Luffy was rubbing his face, Higuma looked angry, and Shanks was more scared than she had ever seen.

"What... What's going on here?" Makino asked. Shanks and Luffy looked at her, until Higuma took advantage of the distraction to grab Luffy's arm and throw down a smoke bomb. When the smoke cleared, Luffy, Higuma, and his entire crew was gone.

"DAMN IT! LUFFY!" Shanks yelled angrily. He grabbed his hat and bolted out the bar door. Outside, he found one of Higuma's crewmates on the ground. Apparently, he tripped while trying to escape and the crew ran off without him. Shanks grabbed the man's collar and pulled him up.

"Where. Are. They?" He growled, angrier than he had ever been.

The man instantly confessed. "Th-th-they went that way." He pointed and closed his eyes. "PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!" He yelled. Shanks threw the man to the ground and ran in the direction the man pointed. Makino, Lucky, and Benn ran outside to see Shanks running off. Their eyes moved once to glare at the cowardly crewmate on the ground, but went back to Shanks a few seconds later.

Meanwhile, out at sea, Luffy was desperately trying to fight his way out of Higuma's grip. The two were in a small lifeboat, Syrup Island was still in sight, but it would be near impossible for anyone to find the boat.

"LEMME GO!" He yelled, biting Higuma's arm. "You jerk!"

"Shut the hell up!" Higuma yelled, holding Luffy above the water. "Or you'll take a dive."

Luffy shut his mouth, but still put up a struggle. He opened his eyes and saw a huge figure behind Higuma and froze, his eyes wide.

"What?" Higuma asked. "What're you..." He turned around, and saw a gigantic Sea King behind him.

Sea Kings, as many know, are ferocious beasts who live in the seas. They're like enormous, vicious fish, and all of them are carnivores.

"Oh, shit." Higuma whimpered. Luffy broke free from Higuma's grasp, and plummeted into the ocean. He whirled around, struggling to stay afloat as he saw the Sea King dive onto Higuma's boat, swallowing the pirate captain whole.

Luffy screamed, still frantically keeping his head above the water. _Darn it, I'm gonna die!_ He closed his eyes and braced himself for the monster's jaws, but soon realized he was being held afloat by someone. He opened his eyes, and saw Shanks holding him up with one arm.

Shanks turned around and saw the Sea King, snarling at the captain for taking its meal away. Shanks glared at the monster and it froze in fear. "Yeah, take a good look. Do I look like someone you wanna $#$& with?"

The monster dived back into the sea and swam away.

Shanks turned back to Luffy. "Okay, it's alright. Everything's gonna be fine."

Luffy was crying into Shanks' shirt. "But... but... what about your arm!" He cried. He pointed to where Shanks' left arm should have been, but all that had been left was a bloody stump. As Shanks had pushed Luffy out of the way of the Sea King, the monster had ripped off his arm.

"Oh, that? Ha, no big deal. The important thing is that you're alive, Luffy." He tried to comfort the boy, but to no avail. Luffy continued crying as the small rowboat, carrying Benn Beckman, Lucky Roux, and Makino, approached the two and pulled them inside.

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Two weeks later

"So, you're really leaving for good?" Luffy asked, tears welling up in his eyes.

Shanks, still wrapped in bandages, grinned. "Yeah, I figure it's time for us to set sail. That whole... incident... was a wake-up call. It's not safe for you guys if we stick around."

Meanwhile, Usopp and Baquina were having their own tearful goodbye.

"Now, you're sure about this, Yasopp? We're going to miss you terribly." Baquina said, crying.

Yasopp just smiled proudly. "I'm certain. The pirate flag is calling me, and I can't say no to it!" He looked down at Usopp and smiled ear to ear. "Check it out, Usopp. Your old man's on his way to becoming a fearsome pirate!"

Usopp and Baquina hugged Yasopp one final time, and he walked towards the Red Hair ship. He stopped at Luffy, and the boy looked up at the man who had been his father for five years.

"Luffy, I loved you like you were my actual son. Don't let anyone ever tell you that you didn't have a family. I'm so glad you came into our lives. Take care of Usopp, alright?"

Luffy nodded and Shanks looked at his new friend. "Ready to go, new Sharpshooter Yasopp?" He asked.

"Yeah. I'll see ya on the ship." Yasopp nodded and continued on his path.

Shanks turned back to Luffy. "Take care, Luffy. Maybe, once you're older, you and Usopp can find me and join my crew." He turned and walked towards the ship, but was stopped when Luffy tugged on his cloak.

"Join your crew? Fat chance of that. I'm going to be my own pirate captain. With a huge ship and really strong crewmates, and we're going to be feared throughout the seas!"

Shanks chuckled. "Really? You're going to be a better captain than me?" He asked.

Luffy grinned like a monkey. "You bet! But there's only one way to become a more powerful captain than you, Shanks."

"And how is that?"

Luffy threw his fist in the air with determination. "I'M GOING TO BECOME THE NEXT PIRATE KING!" He yelled.

Shanks burst into laughter. "Pirate King! Well, I'd LOVE to see that!"

"You're going to! I'll find the One Piece left by Gold Roger, and that'll make me the Pirate King." Luffy continued.

Shanks stopped laughing and smiled. "Well, a king needs a crown." He removed his straw hat and put it on Luffy's head. "Take care of this hat for me, okay? It's very special to me, and I'm trusting you to keep it safe. I'll expect it back when you become the Pirate King, alright?"

Luffy looked up at his hero, the man who saved his life. "I'll keep it safe for you. I'll never leave it out of my sight."

"Well, good luck, kid. See you on the Grand Line, Pirate King." With that, Shanks walked off and boarded his ship. Luffy, Usopp, and everyone else in Syrup Village ran to the pier to see the ship off. As it sailed past the horizon, the people slowly returned to their daily routines. Eventually, only Luffy, Usopp, and Makino remained.

They were silent, until Makino turned towards her bar. "Boys, don't stay out too much longer." She said, her voice cracking as she fought back tears. "Come back to the bar and I'll make you two a big meal."

Luffy and Usopp heard her leave and Usopp finally spoke up. "Pirate King, eh?" He asked Luffy.

Luffy nodded. "You bet. Whaddya say, Usopp? You gonna help?"

"What, help you fight off the countless pirates who are after the same goal? Help you sail in dangerous waters and push our way through storms and who knows what else?"

"Yeah."

Usopp smiled. "Of course I will. I'm going to become a brave pirate, just like Dad is."

Luffy looked at his brother. "Cool. Now, let's go. I'm getting hungry."

Luffy and Usopp begin their adventures on this very spot, seven years later.

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Author's Notes: WHEW! There we go! How's THAT for a conclusion? My longest chapter yet, so I hope you guys appreciate it!

Next time: He's not What he Seems! A Pirate Disguised as a Butler?


	6. Some Call 'em Lies Some Call 'em Stories

Another Piece

Written By: Smerph Greenfox

Disclaimer: All characters, unless otherwise noted, are copyright of Eichiiro Oda.

Chapter 6: Some Call Them Lies, Some Call them Stories

Author's Notes:

Coming Soon: A major decision I made before starting this story. I think you'll either love it or hate it... But I'm doing it anyway!

Coming Not As Soon: Zoro, Sanji, and Nami show their faces! Finally!

Coming in Another Piece Grand Line Chronicles: The Arabasta Arc! MY WAY!

By the way, you'll notice something in this chapter. Usopp will use the names of a very famous duo to refer to Luffy and himself. I'm not insinuating that he knows who these people are, it's just part of an idea I came up with. Whenever their real names can't be revealed, Usopp will use different pseudonyms, all named after famous duos. These are strictly meant to be seen as coincidences, as these people don't actually exist in the AP universe.

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Syrup Island itself is not very small. Dead center is the village, where less than 400 people make their homes. On the north side is a small port that connects directly to the village, it's not used very often because it's located under a cliff, making it difficult for big ships to unload their cargo and deliver it to the village. However, on the south side are the bustling port markets. There is where places like Makino's bar, food carts run by familiar faces, and the local doctor's office were found. Syrup Village was a cozy place, the kind of village where everybody knew everybody else. The island was located on East Blue, far away from the rough and dangerous seas of the Grand Line.

Seven years after Shanks had saved the young Luffy's life, the two wannabe pirates gained a vicious reputation for being the local troublemakers. Their antics were found entertaining by many of the more carefree villagers, especially Makino. However, a majority of the villagers wished the two brothers would just leave the island already, like they had been bragging they would after Shanks left.

For now, however, it was early morning. Just minutes before 7:00, and the boys were standing at the north end of the village. Luffy, wearing the straw hat Shanks had given him, along with a red vest and a pair of old, beat up jeans. Usopp, his long curly black hair kept under a plaid bandanna and wearing a pair of brown overalls.

"Ready?"

"Ha, you bet. I'm always ready for this."

"Okay, on the count of three. One... Two..."

"PIIIIIIIIRATES!"

Luffy and Usopp tore through the village, screaming things like "PIRATES ARE COMING! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" as they did every day since Shanks left.

Running and giggling to themselves, they anticipated the attack of the villagers. Sure enough, the children pressed themselves against the windows, watching their favorite two brothers act like fools, while the adults burst from their doors, armed with frying pans, rolling pins, and whatever other blunt household objects they could find.

"I'm gonna get you to stop once and for all!" An older man with a moustache yelled, throwing a pot directly at Luffy's head. The rubber boy barely felt the impact, and the two continued running until they reached the south entrance of the village. There, they raced up a tree and hid quietly as the villagers lost sight of them.

"Those two, I'll fix them for sure. One day."

"Now, now dear, they're only having a little fun."

"A little fun my foot, Barbara! They need to be taught a lesson!"

The villagers stormed off, and when they were sure they were alone, Luffy and Usopp burst into laughter.

"Hoowee, it's good to get this town riled up every once in a while, isn't it?" Usopp asked.

"Heehee, you bet! I could do it every day for the rest of my life!" Luffy giggled. They climbed down and looked around.

"Well, uh, now what?" Luffy asked.

Usopp smiled proudly and shrugged his shoulders. "What else? We go and visit Kaya, of course!"

Poor Kaya, some would say. She and her family had come to Syrup Island a few years after Shanks left. She lived in great wealth, but she was one of the most humble and selfless people on the island. For a while, she was very happy with her new home, until her parents became ill. They both passed away, leaving the girl an orphan, with only her butlers Merry and Klahadore to take care of her. Even worse, she had fallen ill shortly after her parent's death. She was confined to her bed, and that's when she met the boys.

_"Who are you? Go away, I don't want to talk to anyone." The pale, blonde haired girl scowled._

_"Sorry, but it's harder than that to get rid of us. Let me introduce myself. I am known by many as the Great Pirate Captain Bull's-eye Usopp-Sama! This little punk here is my brother, Monkey D. Luffy." Usopp smiled proudly. Somehow, the two of them had snuck into the mansion grounds and climbed the tree just outside of the girl's window. "We heard how depressed you've been lately, and we decided to cheer you up!"_

_The girl turned away. "What could a bunch of wannabe pirates like you do to cheer me up?"_

_Usopp pretended to be hurt. "Wannabe pirates? Luffy, my boy, I do believe she's just insulted us."_

_Luffy also pretended to be hurt by the girl's words. "Obviously she never heard about the time we scaled the tallest mountain in all of East Blue, without even wearing our coats."_

_"Oh yeah, I remember that. As I recall, I had to carry you halfway up. You were sobbing 'Oh, Usopp, my legs hurt! I'm too tired, and it's too coooooold!'"_

_Luffy punched Usopp in the shoulder. "No, that was YOU complaining! I'm much tougher than that! Hey, remember the giant animals we had to fight?"_

_Usopp's eyes lit up. "Oh yeah! There was that HUGE bunny!"_

_At this, the girl's eyes flickered. She shot a quick glance at the duo, but turned right back and scowled._

_"Ah, so the giant bunny got your interest, eh?" Usopp asked. "Well, there we were, climbing the mountain, and all of a sudden, we felt the ground rumbling..."_

It took a year or so, but Kaya eventually loosened up around the pirates. Luffy and Usopp became the highlight of her day.

Sneaking to the secret opening Usopp had carved into the bushes that surrounded the mansion, Luffy and Usopp quietly entered the mansion grounds. They crouched down and headed for the tree next to Kaya's window. In a flash, they climbed the tree and rapped on her window.

The window opened and there stood the smiling blonde haired girl.

"Good morning, boys!" She said happily. "What fantastic tale do you have for me today?"

"Well, I figured I would tell you about the giant goldfish Luffy 'n me were sent to hunt." Usopp started. "It was terrorizing a local island, and they offered to pay us a zillion Belli to bring it down!"

"Yeah, so we set out in this little dinghy and sure enough, after four days of sailing around-" Luffy was going to finish, until they were interrupted by someone clearing their throat.

"Excuse me, what business do you two have with Miss Kaya?" Luffy and Usopp turned around and looked down, seeing a tall, pale man with jet black, slicked back hair. He was wearing glasses, which he pushed up with the palm of his hand.

Luffy and Usopp coolly jumped down from the tree and Usopp stepped forward. "Oh, nothing. Just asking this girl here a few questions. You see, I'm Jay and this is my brother, Silent Bob. We call him that because he doesn't _talk_." Usopp elbowed Luffy in the stomach to drive the point forward. "We're exterminators. Heard about a giant mole on the premises that we were called to exterminate."

"Enough of your ridiculous lies, boy. I already know who you are. I won't have you pestering Miss Kaya anymore. Filthy ruffians like you don't deserve to be on property like this." He scoffed. "Pirates. What a pathetic age we live in. Filling the heads of idiots with dreams of treasure and adventure. Foolish."

"Klahadore!" Kaya gasped.

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK!" Luffy roared.

"Or what? You'll beat me up? Just like a pirate to resort to violence instantly."

Luffy growled. "I'll kick your ass!" Usopp wrapped his arms around the boy's waist.

"Easy, Luffy!" He said. "Let's just get outta here, alright?" Scowling at Klahadore, Luffy and Usopp walked out the front gate.

"Ah, I wanna kick that guy's ass so bad!" Luffy groaned as they walked down to the north pier, the place where they always go to just hang out and enjoy the weather.

Usopp crossed his arms and looked at the ground. "Yeah, I know you do, Luffy. But we just can't, y'know? I'll tell you one thing, though. We're going back to Kaya's tomorrow. That asshole can't keep us out for good with empty threats."

Luffy grinned. "Yeah, and if he does, I'll kick his ass."

Usopp groaned.

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Author's Notes: Yachtzee, Makino _did_ say "goodbye" to Shanks. It just wasn't shown. I couldn't really think of a good way to write it out, so I just left it as an implied goodbye.

I plan to show more of Makino/Shanks later on, though. How? You'll just have to wait. That's the sign of a good author, always leave 'em wanting more!

(Hey, these chapters are getting longer and longer... Signs I'm improving, or signs I don't know how to end these stupid things?)


	7. Captain Kuro

Another Piece

Written By: Smerph Greenfox

Disclaimer: All characters, unless otherwise noted, are copyright of Eichiiro Oda.

Chapter 7: Captain Kuro

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"So, you're still here, you bastard?" Luffy grunted angrily. "When will you get outta here?"

"Luffy, that's a tree." Usopp sighed.

Luffy didn't say anything for a second. "Yeah, I know. I hate it."

The two brothers were standing at the northern port, on top of a high ridge. The waves crashed onto the beach beneath them, and they were silent.

Suddenly, Luffy kicked the tree he was glaring at. "Stupid thing!" He yelled.

About... two years ago, Luffy was climbing this exact tree, when one of the branches snapped. He fell straight out, and on the way down, cut his left eye on one of the branches. He still had the scar under his eye, and hated the tree ever since. In his little world, the branch intentionally broke on him, for a reason he couldn't figure out.

"It won't go away, Luffy. It's a tree."

"It hurt me, so that means it can go away!" Luffy kicked the tree again. Usopp sighed.

"Just forget it, okay?" He said. He laid down on the grass and closed his eyes. Luffy was silent for once.

For a while, anyway.

"Oi, Usopp. What's he doing here?"

Usopp groaned. "Luffy, I already told you. It's a tree. It can't-"

Luffy shook his head. "No, no, not that. _Him_." Usopp sat up and saw Luffy pointing down over the edge of the cliff.

He looked, and was surprised to see Klahadore accompanied by an enormously fat man, and an astonishingly emaciated man. They were speaking, although it was very quiet. Usopp and Luffy listened closely.

"So, this is all that has become of the KuroNeko pirates?" Klahadore said.

"Uh, yeah, we're the only ones left." The fat man said.

Klahadore sighed. "Even Jango has left?"

The thin man nodded. "Last I heard he joined another pirate crew after he left. I can't remember which one it was, though."

"Well, you two shall be enough." Klahadore said, forgetting the news. "In fact, you shall be more than enough. I would be able to bring this whole village to its knees easily. No one would dare stand up against me." He smiled. "I'm just too damn polite."

Usopp and Luffy gasped.

The fatter one tilted his head. "So, uh, what are we doing, again?"

Klahadore sighed once again. "Simple. After forcing Kaya to sign all her wealth over to me, we kill her. But remember, it must look like an accident. Need I remind you again?"

"K-K-Kill Kaya?" Usopp whispered. "Lu-Lu-Luffy, what's he talking about?"

"I don't know. But I don't like it." Luffy responded.

Resuming their conversation, Klahadore and the pirates whispered even lower. The boys could still faintly hear them, though.

"So, after we cut down the girl, whaddya gonna do next?" The fat one asked.

Klahadore grinned and pushed his glasses up. "Leave. Leave in tears, saying I can't bear to see that mansion anymore. It'll be quite the spectacle."

"Luffy, I'm getting worried. What's going on?" Usopp whispered again.

"Luffy?"

Too late. Luffy was already standing up, peering over the edge of the cliff. "HEY, BUTLER! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!" He yelled.

Klahadore and the two pirates stared wide eyed.

"Uh, who's that guy?" The scrawny one said.

Klahadore sighed. "You brats again? Honestly, leave me alone."

Luffy shook his head angrily. "No! I won't let you kill Kaya. I don't know what your plan is, exactly, but I'm not going to let you do it!"

"Oi, he just said what he was going to do." Usopp pointed out, still whispering.

Klahadore chuckled. "And how do you intend to stop me? Run to the village, warning them of the danger? You already do that every day. They'd never believe you."

Luffy glared. "Who are you?" He asked. "Why did you come here?"

Usopp shivered. _Luuuuuuuffyy... What are you dooooooing...?_ He thought.

Klahadore grinned slyly. A grin of a man who looked like he enjoyed the worst things possible. "That is none of your concern. You'd best be off if you want to save your precious village."

Shooting off another glare, Luffy grabbed Usopp's arm and dashed off into the village.

"We won't let HIM get away with whatever he's planning!" Luffy yelled.

Usopp, who was a great deal faster than Luffy, ran ahead. "I don't like this. Not one bit. But we've GOTTA protect Kaya! We've just gotta..." He gulped and shivered. "Who _is _Klahadore, really?"

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Author's Notes: Um, I have a fantastic reason for my delay. But I don't have time to tell you. (Runs off to play Kingdom Hearts II)


	8. We Fight

Another Piece

Written By: Smerph Greenfox

Disclaimer: All characters, unless otherwise noted, are copyright of Eichiiro Oda.

Chapter 8: We Fight

Author's Notes: forever-flying: We'll be having no yaoi in MY Fanfics, thankyouverymuch.

Yachtzee: Please forgive me! I so very very sorry. The Kuro arc is not exactly one of my favorite arcs in OP, so I'm not all that enthused about writing it. Once I get into my more... preferred arcs (Buggy, Arlong, Arabasta) THEN we'll be cooking with gas! (Sanji: Ahem. Cooking is MY forte, shitty author.)

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So, there they were. Standing at the entrance to the town they lied to day after day.

They tore through the streets every day, screaming about pirates, but it was always all in fun. They were never serious about their warnings. They only did it because they got a kick out of riling up the neighbors.

But today was different. Today, they meant it.

"RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! PIRATES ARE COMING, PIRATES ARE COMING!" They yelled louder than ever before, making sure to run down every road and yell to every house. It wasn't long before the two found themselves surrounded by a group of angry villagers.

"Again? You've already done this today! Don't you have anything better to do?"

Luffy and Usopp frantically shook their heads. "Nonononono, this time we really mean it! Pirates are really coming! We just heard it!" They said simultaneously.

"Enough! I'm sick of hearing you two scream like that every morning! Get out! Go on, find some other village to torment!" A woman said.

"No, you've got to believe us! You're all in danger!" Usopp pleaded. "Please, listen!"

Luffy growled. "Forget it, Usopp. They won't believe us." He said under his breath. "We've gotta go to Kaya right away."

Usopp hesitated. He glanced at the angry villagers, hurling more curses and insults towards him and his brother. "O-okay. Yeah, that makes more sense. Kaya's bound to believe us." Backing up, Usopp and Luffy turned towards the mansion and dashed at full speed towards it.

Usopp took one final look towards the shrinking villagers and gulped. "Oi, Luffy. What if Kaya doesn't believe us?"

Luffy shook his head, still looking forward. "She's gotta. We're telling the truth this time. If she believed our lies, she'll believe the truth. It's the truth after all, and you're supposed to believe that."

_No arguing with that logic..._ Usopp thought sarcastically. He loved his brother, but sometimes he wondered if the boy was right in the head.

They arrived to the mansion, and snuck in quicker than usual. They made more noise, but if they alerted someone, so be it. They had a mission. They scaled the familiar tree and pounded on Kaya's window.

She opened it and smiled warmly as she always did. "Luffy! Usopp! Oh, I thought Klahadore chased you off for good! You're in luck. He's not here, he had to go run some errands." She noticed the serious looks on their faces. "Is... is something wrong?"

"Kaya..." Usopp started. "Klahadore, he..."

Kaya grew worried. "Did something happen to Klahadore? Is he alright?"

Usopp growled. "He's fine, I guess. Kaya, Klahadore is a pirate!" He blurted out.

Kaya felt her heart race. "Wh... What? What do you-"

"We overheard him talking today!" Luffy yelped. "He was talking with these other pirates, and he said he was gonna kill you! He's only pretending to be your butler!"

"Usopp... What-"

Usopp held out his hand. "Come on, we've gotta get you out of here. I'm not gonna let that bastard take you away."

"How... How could you say such an awful thing?" Kaya stammered. "I know he offended you two today, but that's no reason to say such an evil thing!"

Usopp and Luffy's eyes widened. "Evil thing? It's the truth! He's going to kill you!" Usopp grabbed her wrist and tried to pull her out the window, but she refused.

"No! Your lies used to be so sweet and nice, but now you're spreading vicious rumors! Klahadore takes care of me, and he's an honest man!" She exclaimed.

"YOUR STUPID BUTLER IS NOTHING BUT A HEARTLESS BASTARD!" Luffy yelled. In return, he received a painful slap in the face.

Everyone was silent for a while.

The silence was broken when Kaya's servant, Merry burst into the room.

"Kaya, what's all the commotion?" He yelled. When he saw Usopp trying to pull the girl from her bed, he screamed. "GUARDS! GUARDS!"

Immediately, two men armed with pistols ran to the tree the boys were standing in. They raised their guns and one said "Get down from there, leave her alone!"

Usopp took one final, pleading look at Kaya, before jumping down from the tree. Luffy followed suit.

"We- We don't want any trouble. Just come with us and-" The guard said.

"We won't give you trouble." Usopp growled. He instantly opened the bag at his side. Fishing around for not even a second, he pulled out a small silver ball. "**Sure-Kill Kemuri Boshi!** (Smoke Star)" He threw the ball to the ground, and it exploded into a cloud of smoke. When it dissipated, the guards found their targets were nowhere to be found.

Kaya, unable to keep herself steady, nearly toppled out the window, until Merry grabbed her and held her in his arms.

Later, that night...

Luffy and Usopp, sitting near the north dock beside a campfire, silently thought and worried about what had happened that day.

Luffy broke the silence. "I'm not letting that pirate bastard kill her."

Usopp didn't look up. "I don't want her to die either, but what can we do?"

"What do you think we do? We kick his ass!" Luffy yelled.

Usopp suddenly stood up. "You're kidding, right? We can't fight him!"

"Why not? He's just a stupid butler. And a pirate. A pirate butler." Luffy asked.

Usopp raised a finger. "That's exactly it. He's a pirate. Not all pirates are like Shanks, you know."

Luffy shrugged. "So? We're pirates too, right? The Straw Hat Pirates, remember?"

Usopp hesitated and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, yeah, but we've never actually fought anyone before... It's dangerous. Besides, we don't even know what Klahadore's capable of!"

Luffy grinned his monkeylike grin. "Big deal. I'm going to be the Pirate King. There's nothing that can stop me!"

Meanwhile, at Kaya's mansion, Klahadore finally returned home. Merry was still awake to greet him.

"Oh, Klahadore! There you are! Oh, my, you missed quite a show while you were out. Those boys, what are their names? Usopp and Luffy? Well, they returned to the mansion, trying to kidnap Miss Kaya! They even said that you were a pirate! Ridiculous, isn't it?"

Klahadore's eyes widened. "They didn't succeed, did they?"

Merry shook his head, chuckling. "Oh, my, no. They were chased off by our guards. I guess you were right about those boys after all. Nothing but trouble. And here I thought Kaya had made some true friends..."

Klahadore pushed up his glasses with the palm of his hand. "Yes, indeed. Well, I should go and check on her, then. A day like this, she must need my company."

Merry protested. "No, no, she's already asleep. She suddenly became very ill and went to bed early today. But not before asking me to give you this." He held out a small box, wrapped with a red ribbon. "You know, it's been three years since you came here tomorrow. She wanted to give you a present to celebrate."

Klahadore walked towards the window, curiously opening the box. It was a new glasses case. Black, and shiny. He looked up and saw a full moon. "How curious. A full moon tonight. It always seems to bring out the worst in me." With that, he let the case fall from his hands. Raising his foot, he stomped on it, shattering the gift into pieces.

"Klahadore, what on earth has gotten into you?" Merry gasped. "Kaya gave you that as a gift!"

"Foolish man." Klahadore said calmly. "Three years and you never figured it out? Never realized I am actually Captain Kuro of the KuroNeko Pirates?" He suddenly turned around and faced the poor old man. He grinned evilly. Slowly walking towards Merry, he put a strange furry glove on his right hand. Each fingertip held a long double sided blade, glistening in the moonlight. "Perhaps next time two idiots come to you with a warning, you should listen?"

Merry, unable to move, did the only thing he could. Yell. "KAYA! RUN FOR YOUR LI-"

Blood splashed onto the carpet of the room.

"Always brings out the worst in me." Klahadore, or rather Kuro, reiterated. He pushed his glasses up with the palm of his bladed glove and vanished.

"So, it's agreed, then?" Luffy asked.

"I-I guess so. You're the captain, after all." Usopp stammered. He stood up. "I'll be brave... for Kaya's sake."

Luffy grinned another monkeylike grin. He picked up his hat off the ground and placed it on his head. "Then let's do it. Tomorrow... We fight."

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Author's Notes: THERE! How's THAT for a chapter? (Does a little dance) Next up is the Kuro fight, next up is the Kuro fight, ladeedadeeda!


	9. Fighting for What is Right

Another Piece

Written By: Smerph Greenfox

Disclaimer: All characters, unless otherwise noted, are copyright of Eichiiro Oda.

Chapter 9: Fighting for What is Right

Author's Notes: And now it's time for another look behind AP. Today's question: Why are Luffy and Usopp brothers? Well, when I was in the planning stages of AP, I wanted to somehow make it so that every member of the Strawhat Pirates met each other sometime in the past. I couldn't think of a way to pull off some of the encounters, but both Luffy being Usopp's adoptive brother and Luffy seeing Sanji on the Orbit were remnants of that idea.

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Luffy and Usopp woke up after spending the night at the north docks. Luffy immediately jumped up, stretched, and looked around. Off in the distance, he noticed Klahadore walking calmly along the beach, approaching the ramp up to the village.

"Oi, Usopp. Get up." Luffy commanded. Usopp groggily rubbed his eyes and groaned.

"Luffy... It's early." He sighed.

Luffy fixed his gaze on Klahadore. Just looking at the man made Luffy sick to his stomach. "He's coming. And those two goons from yesterday aren't with him."

Usopp slowly made his way next to Luffy. "Really? I wonder where they are..."

When Klahadore had walked within shouting distance, Luffy stood tall, crossed his arms and yelled. "OI, STUPID BUTLER! I'M NOT LETTING YOU GET AWAY WITH THIS!"

This caused Usopp to fall to the ground. "Luuuffy..." He groaned. "We should have stayed quiet and got the jump on him."

"Too late for that." was all Luffy's reply. Sometimes Usopp hated how carefree his brother was.

Suddenly, Klahadore vanished, appearing again at the bottom of the ramp. "So, I am to assume Kaya did not believe you?"

"Eeeyah! He just teleported!" Usopp whimpered.

"Where are those other pirates?" Luffy asked, unfazed by Klahadore's trick.

Klahadore pushed his glasses up. "I sent them on ahead while you were asleep. They were on their way to the mansion an hour ago. By now, Kaya should be signing her will, giving me her entire fortune."

Luffy and Usopp gasped. "We're too late!" Usopp cried. Luffy quickly recovered, though, and formulated one of his simplistic plans in his mind.

"Usopp, go to Kaya's mansion right away. Leave this guy to me." He ordered.

Usopp hesitated at first, but nodded and began sprinting. Klahadore disappeared again, this time appearing directly behind Usopp. His arms were outstretched, and on each of his fingers was a long blade. They had enclosed Usopp like a net. Usopp shivered, but was unharmed.

"Hey, idiot butler! Your fight's with me!" Luffy yelled. Suddenly, Klahadore felt a powerful punch in his back. As he recoiled from the punch, Usopp broke free and took off running.

"Good luck, Luffy!" He cheered as he ran.

Klahadore turned around to see Luffy's arm snapping back to its normal length. "That's right, you've eaten a Devil's Fruit, haven't you?"

"That was my Gomu Gomu no Pistol. I've got a whole bunch of attacks ready for you." Luffy responded. "I've been training with my Gomu Gomu powers since I got 'em."

"I look forward to it." Klahadore vanished, and Luffy felt the blades cut his skin, lightly, but it still hurt. He appeared behind the boy, and Luffy whirled around.

"Wow, you're fast!" Luffy said in awe. "**Gomu Gomu no... MUCHI!**" (Whip) He yelled. He spun around and performed a roundhouse kick, causing his leg to stretch out far. The attack missed, as Klahadore again teleported out of the attack's range.

Luffy whirled around again and stretched his arm far behind him. "**Gomu Gomu no... PISTOL!**" He shot it forward at Klahadore's head, but the man again faded away before the attack could hit.

Luffy snapped his arm back as quickly as possible to regain his defense, but before he could do that, Klahadore slashed him again with all ten blades.

"Bastard... Stop running away like that!" Luffy growled. Klahadore appeared at the top of the ramp leading to the village. Luffy ran towards him, stretching both his arms behind him. "**Gomu Gomu no... GATTLING GUN!**" His arms suddenly shot forward in a flurry, creating the illusion that he had dozens of arms, all punching wildly. Klahadore, unable to dash for a safe spot, felt the full force of the attack and was sent flying backwards. He skidded along the ground before coming to rest.

_That's it you fool. Keep it up. It's all going according to plan._ The fiend thought as he coughed and picked himself up off the ground. He disappeared again.

Meanwhile, Kaya had just woken up from a nightmare in which Luffy and Usopp were demons trying to kidnap her. She stumbled downstairs and saw a figure lying in a pool of blood in the living room, whom she recognized to be Merry.

She gasped. "Merry!" She ran towards him, kneeled down, and hesitantly turned him over. He was cut badly, but was still conscious.

"Ka... Kaya..." Merry coughed. "You have to get out of here... The boys... The boys were right." He had a coughing fit, but recovered and managed to sit up. "Klahadore is a pirate." He said slowly. "Everything the boys said is true."

Kaya gasped fell to a sitting position. "But... But that means-"

"Yes. We welcomed in the demon... And shunned the angels!" As if on cue, the front door of the mansion burst open. Standing in the doorway were the two pirates that had accompanied Klahadore.

Meanwhile, Usopp ran faster than he ever had before. While running, he opened his bag, pulled out his trusty slingshot, and pulled his goggles over his eyes. He didn't run through the village, instead choosing a slightly longer route to avoid the villagers chasing him. That was the last thing he needed right now.

_I'm coming, Kaya. Just hold on a little bit longer._ He thought to himself. _I'll be there shortly. And this time, I'll show you how brave I can be._

He suddenly found himself thinking about the tall tales he and Luffy would tell Shanks and Makino at her bar. All the grand adventures he supposedly went on, and all the foes he supposedly defeated. He also thought about how he told those same lies to Kaya, and how much it made her smile to hear them.

Thinking about this strengthened his resolve. He was more determined to rescue his friend. He quickened his pace even further.

_All those stories and lies. All those days of pretending to be someone I'm not. Well, no more! I'm prepared to put my life on the line for Kaya! And since I'm ready to do that..._

"My days of pretend pirating... ARE OVER!"

TO BE CONTINUED

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Author's notes: Yeah, a little short, I know. But that's okay, I suppose. The fight's going to stretch to probably one and a half chapters. I'm trying to follow the anime's pacing, and the Kuro arc was only nine episodes long. So far, my Kuro arc is five chapters long, so I figure a few more and I'll wrap it up and get these boys out on East Blue!


	10. Being Brave

Another Piece

Written By: Smerph Greenfox

Disclaimer: All characters, unless otherwise noted, are copyright of Eiichiro Oda.

Chapter 10: Being Brave

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"**Gomu Gomu no... PISTOL!**" Luffy yelled. Kuro had appeared right in front of Luffy, almost as if to taunt him. Luffy tried to take advantage of it, but of course, the boy's attack missed and he snapped his arm back. They were no longer on the ramp leading up the north pier. That was behind them. Now they were fighting on the path leading up to the village.

"Who are you?" Kaya asked, terrified.

"I am Butchie." The fat pirate said. "And he is Siam. And together, we're the Nyaban Brothers! But it's not very important right now, is it?"

Kaya attempted to move backwards, but Siam seemingly vanished, and appeared behind her.

"Going somewhere?" He taunted.

"Wh..What do you want?" She gasped.

Luffy and Kuro continued their brawl, neither one of them gaining an advantage. Luffy's attacks kept missing their mark, and Kuro found that the rubber boy was more resilient to his claws than he had planned. Not to mention the fact that Luffy's Gomu Gomu no Gattling Gun, the only attack so far to connect, had slowed him down a little bit.

_Regardless, everything is going as planned._ He thought. _As long as he keeps pushing forward. Soon, we'll be at the village. I'll let him pound me for a second, until the villagers notice what's going on. I simply tell them he attacked me while I was taking a walk along the beach. Once Butchie and Siam finish their part, I'll convince the town that his brother is responsible for her murder. What luck that my only opponents are habitual liars._

Luffy was, of course, oblivious to this plan. All he knew was that Klahadore had to be stopped.

"No. No, I'd never agree to any pirate's demands!" Kaya yelled. She tried to sound as strong as possible, but her illness, combined with her own fear, betrayed her words.

"I don't think you have a choice, here." Siam snickered. "Right now, Captain Kuro is finishing off the only two people who even know about his plan."

What little courage Kaya had was shattered. "You're... lying. Usopp... Luffy..."

"And what makes you think he'll stop with those two? What's preventing him from killing everyone in the village? This little pile of dirt you call an island has no way to stop one of the most feared pirates in all of East Blue." Butchie said, smirking evilly.

Usopp, meanwhile, continued his dash to Kaya's house. Upon arriving to the gate, he gasped when he found it had been smashed open. He readied his slingshot and cautiously approached the house. To his surprise, the front door had also been smashed in. He shook with fear, and stepped inside.

"K-K-K-Kaya?" He stuttered.

"Usopp!" Kaya gasped. A small smile came to her face.

Usopp heard her cry and slowly entered the room. Everything about him, from his knees shaking to his teeth rattling, seemed to scream out just how terrified he was.

The Nyaban Brothers seemed to match his terror.

"Y-You! Bu-bu-but you should be dead!" Siam gasped.

"He must be stronger than we thought! Oh, please don't hurt us!" Butchie pleaded.

Usopp's knees stopped shaking. "Huh?" _I thought these guys would be super strong or something. _"That's right! You should be afraid of me!" He boasted. "I am the Great Captain "Bull's-eye" Usopp-SAMA! I have over 80,000 followers!"

"Ohhhh no. We're done for! We can't hope to stand up to this great warrior!" The brothers sobbed.

"Ha! That's right!" Usopp laughed proudly. _They fell for it!_ He thought.

"Just kidding." Siam smirked. Before Usopp could react, they dashed for him, and slashed his chest with their claws. He coughed and fell on his back.

"Usopp!" Kaya cried out.

"Now, back to business." Siam said. He and Butchie turned back to Kaya and grinned wickedly. They walked towards her slowly, but suddenly Butchie made a hacking noise, and fell face first to the ground.

"Butchie!" Siam cried out. With a loud thud, a lead ball fell to the ground, and rolled away. Siam whirled around to see Usopp standing up, panting. His slingshot was raised and his chest was bleeding.

"**Namari... Boshi...**" (Lead Star) He wheezed.

"Why you annoying-" Siam started. He dashed at Usopp again.

"Nose." Usopp said. Before Siam could attack again, Usopp had loaded his slingshot and fired, hitting Siam square in the nose. It started bleeding, and he fell to his knees.

"Kaya, can you walk?" Usopp said suddenly.

She struggled to her feet, more nervous than anything. She'd never seen Usopp like that. "Y... Yes."

"Good. Can you go warn the villagers about Klahadore? Me and Luffy tried telling them, but they wouldn't listen. I'll keep these two under control."

Kaya nodded and cautiously walked to the door. She picked up her pace slightly when she walked outside.

"**Gomu Gomu no... PISTOL!**" Luffy launched another attack, Kuro saw it pass by very close to his face.

_He's... He's getting faster!_ Kuro thought.

"**STAMP!**" Luffy yelled. Kuro had just enough time to see the sole of Luffy's sandal flying towards him. The attack made contact with his chest, and sent him flying backwards. He quickly got to his feet and saw Luffy charging. He dashed to his left and had an opportunity to catch his breath. He looked behind him. The town was very close. One more dash would place him in range. _I don't understand, though. How did he get so fast? No... He's not getting faster. I was getting careless. I've underestimated him._

The people in the town were just now waking up and heading outside to start their day. Makino stepped outside and looked around.

"That's odd. The boys should be running through the town by now." She said to herself.

Her remark was answered when she heard someone scream out "PIRATES!" Something was wrong, though.

"That's not Usopp or Luffy." Someone noted. The townsfolk looked around, and someone saw Kaya running from her mansion. She was the one screaming, and when she arrived in the town, she nearly fainted. Makino ran towards her and grabbed her shoulder to support her.

"Kaya? What are you doing out of bed? You're sick!" Makino asked.

Kaya shook her head. "No, you have to listen! There are pirates here!"

Makino frowned. "Pirates? Kaya, is this a joke? Luffy and Usopp try this trick every day."

"I'm serious! My butler, Klahadore, he's actually a pirate after my fortune. Luffy and Usopp are fighting him and his crew right now!" She insisted. "Didn't they come by yesterday to warn you?"

"Come to think of it, it was kinda strange how they'd run through the village like that twice in one day. I just thought they were causing trouble like always." A villager noted.

"Kaya, who told you this?" Makino asked.

Kaya looked away. "No one. I saw it with my own eyes. Merry was cut up, and these two pirates invaded the mansion. Usopp appeared and saved me, though. He's still in there."

At that moment, Kuro had dashed closer towards the town. He was at a good enough distance that an attack from Luffy would send him flying down the middle of the town. Luffy took the bait, sure enough.

"**Gomu Gomu no... BAZOOKA!**" Luffy stretched out both of his arms far behind him, and whipped them forward, striking Kuro's chest with his palms. Kuro flew backwards, stopping after he crashed into the side of a house.

The sudden commotion caused the townspeople to look towards its source. They saw Luffy walk in, looking very confused.

"Huh? The town? How'd I get in here?" He asked himself. As he looked around, he saw Kaya, and dashed up to her. "Kaya! Are you okay? I took care of that stupid Klahadore." As usual, he was oblivious to the villagers and their confusion.

"Luffy, what exactly is going on?" Makino asked.

Luffy suddenly became aware of the others. "Makino! Oh, well, you see that butler there is actually a pirate, and..."

As Luffy explained the situation as best as he could, the owner of the house Kuro had crashed into approached Kuro. He thought the pirate was unconscious, but suddenly his eyes flashed open. Before anyone could react, Kuro was on his feet. He swung his claws upwards, slashing the man, and adjusted his glasses with his other hand.

"Damn you, boy. It seems you and your brother are causing every aspect of my plan to fall apart." Kuro said flatly. "I see that Butchie and Siam failed to eliminate Kaya."

The villagers cleared out of the way, many of them running back into their houses. Kuro approached slowly. "Fortunately, I always have backup plans." He stretched his fingers out, and the blades flashed in the sunlight.

Makino got a good look at his eyes. They lacked the dignity and politeness she had known Klahadore for. Instead, they had the look of an insane lunatic. It was like looking fear itself in the face.

Kuro crossed his arms over his chest, his blades fanned out. He disappeared. Kaya and Makino braced themselves, but his attack never hit them. When they opened their eyes, the saw Luffy standing in front of them, his arms out, protecting them. Kuro's arms had uncrossed, and there was fresh blood on the blades.

"Lu..ff..y..?" Makino said slowly. His cheerful, ridiculous personality was gone, just like how Klahadore's uprightness had vanished. However, Luffy hadn't become a cold-hearted killer, but a selfless hero.

"You're even stupider than I thought!" Kuro laughed as Luffy grimaced in pain. "Why would you offer your own body as a shield for these people?"

"Left yourself unguarded." Was all Luffy's response. He suddenly grabbed Kuro's arms with both hand, and his own arms stretched out and wrapped themselves around Kuro's. He jumped towards Kuro, and wrapped his legs around his waist.

"Makino, Kaya, you'd better get out of the way." He said. The women obliged and Makino helped Kaya to safety.

"What do you plan on doing, boy?" Kuro asked. He hadn't expected this.

"I just thought of a new attack. Watch this." He swung his head backwards, and his neck began stretching far out.

Kuro's eyes widened as he figured out what Luffy's plan was.

"**GOMU GOMU NO... KANE! **(Bell)" At that instant, Luffy's neck began retracting, and his forehead slammed into Kuro's face, making what sounded like a mallet striking a large bell.

TO BE CONTINUED

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Author's Notes: I fail at updating on time. I blame writer's block. And Bush. Yeah, it's Bush's fault.

By the way, I'd really like to get onto the Grand Line by the end of this year. Can I do it? Maybe.


	11. Conclusion

Another Piece

Written By: Smerph Greenfox

Disclaimer: All characters, unless otherwise noted, are copyright of Eiichiro Oda.

Chapter 11: Conclusion

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"**GOMU GOMU NO... KANE! **(Bell)" At that instant, Luffy's neck began retracting, and his forehead slammed into Kuro's face, making what sounded like a mallet striking a large bell.

Luffy pulled his head back, unwinding and pushing off of Kuro. Taking advantage of his dazed state, Luffy crouched, placed a hand on the ground to support himself, and swung and outstretched leg horizontally, with a cry of "**MUCCHI! **(Whip)" The low attack hit Kuro in the knees and he buckled under his own weight.

Luffy stood upright and adjusted his hat. "I told you already, I won't let you kill Kaya." He said flatly. "Get out of my village."

With that, he turned his back to Kuro and walked off. When he had gotten about halfway to the entrance, he heard Kuro wheezing.

"Pathetic excuse for a pirate. Did you think that was enough to stop me?"

Luffy turned around and saw Kuro struggling to stand. His legs shook for a moment, but he eventually regained a solid footing.

"I AM CAPTAIN KURO, OF THE KURO-NEKO PIRATES! A mere village boy can't hope to defeat me!"

Meanwhile, Usopp was having his own problems. He armed his slingshot and took aim at the scrawny one.

Siam charged at him, but couldn't make contact before Usopp cried out "**NAMARI BOSHI!** (Lead Star)" The pellet hit the pirate right between the eyes and he fell on his back.

Something caught Usopp's eye, and he turned his head to the left. Merry was still on the ground next to him. _Crap! I can't fight with Merry here! Wait, I've got an idea..._ He smirked and pulled another shot out of his bag.

"Hey, pirates!" He taunted.

They paused for a second, and after a moment of silence, Usopp spoke again.

"Tryandcatchme! **KEMURI BOSHI!** (Smoke Star)" He fired the shot at the ground, and it created a cloud of smoke. Using that as cover, Usopp dashed for the door and out into the front yard.

Coughing, Siam and Butchie looked through the smoke. It started clearing enough to the point where they could see a figure run outside.

"Ha! What a coward!" Confidently, they also ran for the door. The second they stepped outside, they could see clearly.

In fact, they could clearly see Usopp grinning wildly, with another shot in his raised slingshot. He twitched his fingers, revealing a second pellet in the slingshot as well.

He chuckled a bit. "**Sure Kill... KYAKU BOSHI! **(Gunpowder Star)" He released the band, and the two stars took off. They collided with the two pirates' faces and exploded on contact. It wasn't a big explosion, but enough to cause them to fall to their knees and eventually collapse in the doorway. The force had knocked them out.

Usopp returned his slingshot to his bag, and raised his goggles to his forehead. "And stay out." He grunted. Recomposing himself, he turned around and started walking towards the village.

Kuro adjusted his glasses. "You really have no idea what you've gotten yourself into. This Great Age of Pirates has no use for the dreamers. They will be weeded out by the planners and the schemers. One Piece? Pirate King? These aren't the prizes for people like you who run forward blindly!"

Luffy stood without saying anything. Kuro continued talking, completely oblivious to the growing anger in the boy's eyes.

"You are a fool to even think that treasure is laid out for you. These so called 'dreams' are laughable at best! True pirates refuse to even acknowledge them!"

"I was going to let you leave my village peacefully." Luffy said. "You should have stayed down." He began stretching his arm behind him. "**Gomu Gomu no...**"

Kuro smirked and leaned to the left, preparing to dash off. He slowly stepped once, but suddenly winced in pain. _No! That kick earlier... He... He damaged my legs! I can't run away anymore!_

Suddenly, an idea entered his head. He fanned his fingers in front of himself, the blades crossing each other in a grid-like pattern. "You wouldn't dare hit me now!"

"**PISTOL!**" Luffy ran forward as his arm snapped back. It shot forward, and when it made contact, shattered the steel claws and hit Kuro in the chest at full force.

Kuro coughed loudly as his eyes turned white. As shards of his steel claws clattered on the ground, he flew backwards and skidded along the ground, unconscious.

Luffy's arm snapped back to normal and he walked up to the fallen foe.

"My dreams are laughable?" He asked flatly. "Where'd you get that idea?" The boy smirked a little. "Is this what people believe nowadays? That's no good." He adjusted his hat and flashed a wide, determined grin.

"I need a crew that knows what it REALLY means to be a pirate!"

With that, he leaned backwards and fell down, sighing contentedly.

"Haa... I wasn't sure that attack would even work!" He said, still grinning.

"LUUUUUUFFFFYYY!" The village suddenly heard screaming. They recognized the voice instantly. It was Usopp.

Luffy jumped to his feet as Usopp entered the village. "Oi, Usopp! You're okay!"

Usopp ran up to Luffy and put his hands on his knees in order to catch his breath. "Yeah, barely! But I beat 'em! They were tough, too! They had guns and swords and everything! They were fast, too! I even got hurt! But all it took was for me to speak of my triumphant quests as a great pirate and they surrendered almost instantly! But just to be safe, I fired a few of my new Power Shot Kyaku Boshi!"

Usopp continued on and on with his tale, making it more and more unbelievable. Luffy just laughed, in spite of the wounds he received.

"Unbelievable. Simply unbelievable..." Makino murmured. "Those boys... There's definitely something special about them..."

"Yeah..." Kaya smiled widely. "We're lucky to have them!"

"Boys! You two had better see the doctor about those wounds!" A villager shouted, interrupting Usopp in mid-sentence.

Makino led the two heroes to the doctor's office while a few more villagers lifted Kuro up.

"Oi, where's their pirate ship docked?" One of them called out.

"Uhh... I think it was that way." Luffy pointed in the wrong direction.

Usopp smacked him on the back of the head. "That's not what he's asking! Honestly... Well, they came from the north pier, so I'd assume that's where the ship is. Oh, don't forget to grab the others at Kaya's mansion."

Kaya suddenly gasped. "Merry! He's been injured as well!"

A villager nodded. "Don't worry, we'll go pick him up after we send these pirates off to sea."

The townspeople separated and carried out the various tasks that needed to be completed. Someone escorted Kaya back to her mansion while the boys waved goodbye to her, being led to the village doctor.

"Oi, Luffy. We need to talk about something..." Usopp whispered.

"What is it?" Luffy asked.

"I'll tell you later, once we're alone. Too many people right now."

Makino cleared her throat. "What are you two whispering about?" She asked with faux anger.

"No-nothing, Makino!" Usopp stuttered.

Kaya smiled and looked at the sky. _We're very lucky to have them..._

TO BE CONTINUED

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Kaya: So you're leaving the island?

Luffy: Yeah! Time to start our journey! Who knows what kind of adventures we'll go on?

Usopp: We need some crewmates first! Can't have a pirate crew with just two people!

Luffy: Wait, who's this old hag? You wanna fight or something?

Smerph: All this next time on Another Piece!

Zoro: Is it our turn to show up yet?

Smerph: Heyheyhey! What are you doing here? Wait your turn!


	12. Set Sail

Another Piece

Written By: Smerph Greenfox

Disclaimer: All characters, unless otherwise noted, are copyright of Eiichiro Oda.

Chapter 12: Set Sail

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Kaya tapped her foot impatiently and Merry pulled out his pocket watch to check the time.

"5 o'clock." He said casually.

She looked around. "Did they forget?"

Merry chuckled. "Not likely! They may not be the brightest chaps, but they certainly wouldn't forget something like this!"

The girl and her butler were standing at the entrance to the village that connected to the north port. The sun was just starting to rise to their right, and as the light reflected off of Kaya's eyes, she remembered the events of the previous night.

_"LEAVING?!" Kaya and Merry screamed._

_Luffy and Usopp grinned. "Yep, that's right!" Luffy said. "If I'm gonna be Pirate King, I gotta leave sometime, right? Better to go now, before people like Kuro try to do it too."_

_"We're telling you guys only because you're the only ones we can trust to keep it a secret, at least until we leave." Usopp continued._

_Kaya fought back tears. "But why? Why keep it a secret? You're heroes here! The village will want to say goodbye!"_

_Luffy waved his hand dismissively. "That's what we're trying to avoid. Why drag it out? I don't wanna have a long, sad goodbye. I wanna leave being happy."_

_"You'll see us off, right? We're gonna set sail at 6 o'clock in the morning. We don't have a big ship, but it'll get us around until we have the Belli to get a bigger one." Usopp said._

_Merry smiled. "Very well, of course we'll be there. You boys better get going, then. We'll see you bright and early!"_

_Nodding, the boys raced off, turning around to wave goodbye while they ran._

_"I don't know if I'm okay with this, Merry. I mean, can they really last out there?" Kaya said with her head down._

_Merry put his hand on her shoulder. "Kaya, you should know better than anyone that those boys can do anything. But they're counting on your support. You need to be there for them." He was silent for a second. "Kaya, I think I have a fantastic idea!"_

Luffy and Usopp approached them, huge backpacks crammed with their belongings on their backs, being extra quiet so that no one in the village could hear them. The village had grown dependant on the boys being their signal to wake up, so it was a guarantee that the entire town was asleep.

"Well, I guess this is it." Usopp said. "Finally, we're going to begin our journey!"

"Ye-Yeah. Your journey..." Kaya mumbled.

"Oi, Kaya! Don't be like that! Cheer up!" Luffy tilted his head and grinned childishly.

"Are you going to walk with us to the port?" Usopp asked.

"Of course we will. We have a gift waiting for you down there." Merry said.

The boys' eyes lit up. "A gift? What is it?" Luffy asked.

"Come on, we'll show you!" Kaya said, suddenly cheerful.

They started silently down the incline, and as they walked, the mast of a ship became visible. Luffy and Usopp smiled even wider when they finally saw the surprise.

They raced down the rest of the incline to see it closer. It was a fantastic, beautiful ship. Large, and glistening, it had a sheep's head as its bow, resembling Merry himself.

"This, boys, is the Going Merry!" Merry said proudly. "A ship of my own design, as you can plainly see. We're giving it to you, as a thank you."

Luffy continued to stare at the majestic ship, but Usopp turned around. "For defeating Kuro?" He asked.

"No, no, not for that. For being such fantastic friends all this time. I couldn't have asked for anyone better while I was sick." Kaya explained.

"Now, in order to steer the ship, you have to-" Merry began, before being interrupted by Usopp.

"Oi, oi, you'd better leave that to me. Luffy, take our bags onto the ship!" He said.

Luffy nodded, and grabbed Usopp's bag with one arm. He hurried up the rope ladder along the ship's side and gasped.

"Whooaaa... Everything's so new and clean!" He leaned off the side of the ship. "Oi, Usopp! You gotta see this!"

"In a minute, Luffy!" Usopp responded. He turned back to Merry. "You were saying?"

As Merry continued his explanation, Luffy took it upon himself to explore the ship. He took a great interest in the bow, and jumped on top of it. He sat down cross-legged, and smiled. "This will work great! This is my seat now!" He said to no one in particular.

Luffy heard Usopp calling him, and he climbed down from the ship. "What's up?" He asked.

Without warning, Kaya pushed the two together and wrapped her arms around them. "Goodbye, boys. Don't forget about me while you're sailing out there, please?"

Luffy and Usopp looked at each other, and pulled away from Kaya. "Oi, oi, where'd this come from?" Usopp asked. "You're acting like we're never going to see each other again! Hey, this island is our home. We'll be back, right Luffy?"

"Of course we will!"

Kaya wiped tears from her eyes. "Okay. You boys... Go have fun on your trip!" She said. "Well, go on!" She pushed them a bit, and they scaled the ship, laughing. When they reached the top, they looked down over the railing.

"Oi! Next time you see me, I'll be the Pirate King!" Luffy promised.

"I look forward to it!" Kaya called back.

With that, the sails were lowered, and the winds started carrying the proud vessel. Kaya, Luffy, Usopp, and Merry all continued calling out their goodbyes, Luffy jumping up and down like a little child.

The ship faded into the horizon, and Kaya sat down on the ground, pulling her knees to her chest.

"Miss Kaya! Are you alright?" Merry panicked.

"I'm fine, Merry. Just fine. A little tired, that's all." She took a very deep breath and sighed. "It's thanks to them that I'm able to leave the house now. Merry..." She turned to him. "Do you think they'll do it? I don't really want to think of them as pirates. Klah-" She caught herself. "Kuro was a pirate, and he nearly killed us all."

Merry smiled warmly. "Pirates, my dear, come in all kinds. Do you know about 'Red Hair' Shanks?"

Kaya shook her head.

"He is the man that is responsible for Luffy's dream. Makino-san told me about him. Nowadays he's one of the most powerful pirates in not only East Blue, but the entire world! But to find such loyalty, bravery, and honesty in one man, why, very few can make that claim. But I go on. The point is, Luffy and Usopp would never do the evil things that Kuro did. You know this."

She shook those bad thoughts from her head. "You're right. What was I thinking? Just because Luffy and Usopp call themselves pirates doesn't mean they're really pirates! I mean, pirates in the sense the rest of the world would see them." She corrected herself.

There was a pause.

"Merry... I've decided something important."

"And what's that?"

"I've decided I'm going to dedicate my life to becoming a doctor. I want to help people who are sick, just like the boys did."

"Miss Kaya, that's an absolutely wonderful dream!"

Meanwhile...

"FASTER! SCRUB FASTER!" The woman roared. Her panicked crew frantically cleaned the pirate ship at a rapid pace.

"O-Only the best for you, Alvida-sama!" A scrawny, tan man stammered.

Alvida, the captain of this ship, was an enormous woman, her face covered in unattractive freckles. She wielded a large, spiked mace and ruled her entire ship with an iron fist.

Well, almost all of it.

"Oi, you're overworking your crew a bit, don't you think?" A woman's voice casually called out. On the deck, underneath an umbrella, a blue haired woman in her early twenties yawned and stretched.

"Girl, if it weren't for the fact that-" Alvida started to growl.

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before. I'm going below deck. Wake me up when we hit our destination." She leaned over, and grabbed her two katana before ambling into the ship's interior.

As she closed the door behind her, a large man in the crow's nest began shouting "VESSEL DEAD AHEAD!!"

Approaching them was a medium-sized ship with a sheep's head for the bow.

TO BE CONTINUED

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Author's Notes: Finally! The gang's ready to sail the seas! Stay tuned for more next time!


	13. First Encounter

Another Piece

Written By: Smerph Greenfox

Disclaimer: All characters, unless otherwise noted, are copyright of Eiichiro Oda.

Chapter 13: First Encounter

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Usopp stared at the map, puzzled. He and Luffy were currently in Going Merry's lounge. As Luffy wandered around and examined the ship like a child, Usopp was more focused on where the ship was headed.

"Okay, if we just left from here, and we're heading... Um... West... Then the next closest island is... Uh... Shell Island?" He leaned back in his chair and groaned. "Ah, I can't read maps! We need a navigator for that kind of stuff!"

Usopp turned to face Luffy and he saw the boy was busy stuffing his face with food from the fully-stocked refrigerator. "Mmyh, Mmd M Mnk! (Yeah, and a cook!)" was Luffy's response.

"Stop stuffing your face! This is serious!" Usopp crossed his arms and looked down. "We can't possibly sail the Grand Line alone. We need the essentials, here. We've already got a captain and a sharpshooter, but we still need a navigator, a cook, a doctor..."

"A musician!" Luffy cheered.

Usopp whirled around to face Luffy. "That can come later! Just focus on the important things right now!"

He tried to read the map again, and after a long pause, he threw his hands up in frustration. "That's it! I need to go outside!" He got up and left the lounge.

Outside, he took a deep breath and calmed down. It was then that the excitement really hit him. _Wow, this is great! I'm actually sailing the seas as a pirate! Amazing!_

His joy was cut short, however, when he noticed something off in the distance. It was a ship.

"Oi, Luffy! You'd better get out here!" He called back to his brother. The captain walked out curiously.

"What's up?" He asked. Usopp pointed silently at the growing ship approaching them.

Luffy beamed. "Hey! Another ship! Awesome! Maybe we can find some crewmates there!"

Usopp sighed. "Well, at the very least, maybe we can get some help with the navigation. We don't have a pirate flag yet, so chances are they won't think we pose a threat."

That didn't matter very much, though. When the ship was clearly in view, the boys could see that the flag waving on the mast was a pirate flag.

Usopp panicked and began screaming. Luffy's eyes began sparkling and he smiled widely.

"PIRATES!!" The two of them yelled. For obviously different reasons.

Eventually, the ships met side-by-side. The crew of the mystery ship smiled wickedly.

"That's a really nice ship you got there." One of them said.

Luffy smiled. "Thanks. It's new." He said bluntly.

"Think we'll take it now." The crewmate said.

Luffy tilted his head quizzically. "Take it?"

The crewmate laughed and jumped from his ship onto the Going Merry, which offended Luffy.

"Hey! We didn't say you could come onto this ship! Get off!" He protested.

"This ship is now under the control of the most beautiful woman in the world, Captain Alvida-Sama!" The crewmate said triumphantly.

Usopp came out of his panic. "What did you say?" He asked.

Luffy became infuriated. "No! This ship is a gift from Kaya! I won't give it up to you guys! **Gomu Gomu no... PISTOL!!**" With that cry, he shot the man with a punch that sent him flying back onto his own ship. His pirate comrades froze in terror as Luffy's arm retracted to its normal length.

He was amazed with his own strength. "Huh. That was easier than I thought."

Usopp's eyes were wide with surprise. "Wow! And here I thought it would get harder as we sailed farther from home." He remarked.

"That-That-That-That boy..." One of Alvida's crewmates stammered.

"JUST WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!" Someone roared not unlike a bear or gorilla, or some kind of bearilla.

"ALVIDA-SAMA!!" The entire crew cried out. The crowd parted as an enormously obese woman with greasy black hair and a large mace in her hand walked up.

"This is Alvida? The most beautiful woman in the world?" Usopp asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Damn right I am!" Alvida said proudly.

Usopp tried his hardest to hold it in, he really did. But it didn't work. He fell to the floor in fits of laughter, so much that he actually began tearing up. "This-This is too much!" He gasped. "Lu-Luffy! I hoped to meet some cute girls-Haaaa on our trip! But if... If she's the most beautiful..."

Luffy caught on and began chuckling along as well. "Yeah! She's just an old, fat hag!"

Alvida's crew froze. Literally. No one moved or said a word.

When the boys finally began calming down, they noticed Alvida's eyes carried a sinister look in them.

"You... Little... Bastards..." She jumped from her ship, surprisingly high for a woman of her... size.

"I AM THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN ALIVE!!" She came down swinging her mace onto Luffy's head. Instead of buckling under the weight like a normal human, Luffy didn't even budge.

He easily swatted the mace out of her hands, and it landed in the ocean with a loud splash.

"Hee. That won't work on a rubber man." He said cryptically. "**Gomu Gomu no... PISTOL!**" With another shot, he punched Alvida in the stomach, sending her flying into the ocean with a similarly loud splash.

There was a long silence as Alvida's crew stood in terror. Finally, someone got up the nerve to say something.

"Well, don't just stand there, you blokes! He knocked our captain into the ocean! KILL HIM!" A muscular, shirtless man withdrew a large cutlass from his belt and led the remaining crew into an all-out charge.

Luffy prepared another attack, but Usopp stopped him by putting his hand on Luffy's shoulder. "Wait, wait, wait. Let me do this." He reached into his bag and pulled out his slingshot, as well as a pellet.

"**Hissatsu... KEMURI BOSHI!!** (Sure-kill Smoke Star)" He fired at the floor of the enemy ship, causing the crew to be lost in a cloud of smoke.

"Thanks. I'll take it from here." Luffy smiled and he stretched his arms out behind him. He jumped from the Going Merry to Alvida's ship. "**Gomu Gomu no... GATTLING GUN!!**" With a flurry of rapid punches, covered by the cloud of smoke, the crew screamed in terror as they were launched into the sea along with their captain.

The force of Luffy's punches dispersed the smoke, and it cleared up much faster than usual. Once it was fully cleared, Usopp joined Luffy on Alvida's ship.

"Ha. I hope the next pirate crew holds more of a challenge for the Great Captain Bulls-Eye Usopp-Sama!" Usopp boasted.

Luffy playfully punched him in the shoulder. "Hey, I'm the one who did all the work!"

As they argued, the door to the cabin opened up and a woman walked out. She had deep blue hair that was messy from sleeping. She wore a grey t-shirt and tight jeans. Sticking out of her left sleeve was a large black flame tattoo. Attached to her belt, on her left side, were two katana.

The lower one was in a black sheathe, nothing too special about it. Its handle was red, with a black handle lacing wrapped around it. Its guard was round.

The higher sword was much more unique. Its guard was cross-like, resembling a butterfly in a way. Its handle lacing was navy blue, matching its sheathe. The sword was obviously worn out from use. There were cracks along the sheathe, and its handle lacing was torn and hanging loose in a few places.

She rubbed the back of her head tiredly and yawned. "Hey, keep it down up here. I'm trying to sleep." Then she noticed the boys standing on the ship didn't belong to Alvida's crew, and the aforementioned crew was nowhere to be seen.

Glaring, she withdrew the katana from the black sheathe and held it out, pointing it at Luffy.

"Alright, what the hell is going on here?

TO BE CONTINUED

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Author's Notes: Alright, alright, I know what all of you are thinking. "KUINA? DOUBLE-YOU TEE EFF, MATE!!" Right?

Well, lemme give an explanation. Way, way, way, WAY back when AP was still in its planning stages, Kuina was already an idea I had floating around. However, she wasn't going to join the crew. See, I had this idea that every member of the Strawhats would have someone related to them on Shanks' crew. Luffy has Shanks, Usopp has Yasopp, Zoro has Kuina, you get the idea. Well, eventually, that idea was scrapped, but I liked the idea of having Kuina as a sort of foil for Zoro.

Now, if there's one thing I'm sick of, its the cliche of the female character always being able to beat the snot out of the male character, but never vice-versa. Enter Kuina. Her and Zoro will fight a LOT during the course of the series, and she'll receive her fare share of poundings from ol' Marimo head. (Much to Sanji's chagrin, but that's a whole 'nother story)

Also, Kuina will serve as a nice defense against the Zoro/Sanji pairing that I **_haaaaaaaaaaaate..._** So take that, you friggin' shippers. No yaoi here. None. So don't even bother asking. Got it memorized?

Whelp, see you all next time!


	14. Kuina

Another Piece

Written By: Smerph Greenfox

Disclaimer: All characters, unless otherwise noted, are copyright of Eiichiro Oda.

Chapter 14: Kuina

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"I asked, what the hell is going on here?" The woman said.

Luffy and Usopp came out of their cheering. "Eh? Your crew attacked us, that's what's going on." Luffy said plainly. "So I knocked 'em into the ocean."

She stepped forward, her blade still pointing at the young captain. "My crew?" She chuckled. "I don't hold any attachments to those guys. I'm a mercenary. I wasn't really their crewmate. But..." With that, she dashed forward, vanishing from sight. She reappeared behind Luffy, pressing her back up against his, her eyes closed and a satisfied smirk on her face. She nonchalantly raised her right arm, and slung it over her shoulder, pressing the katana's blade against Luffy's chest diagonally.

"You did just knock out my only ride to Shell Island. And I'm not going to take that lightly." She continued.

Luffy stood silently, his eyes wide. He was more impressed by the woman's speed than he was by the fact that she was currently in a position to easily kill him. Inside Usopp's mind, he was panicking. But something she said triggered a memory.

"Sh-Sh-Shell Island? You won't get there on your current course, you know!" He stuttered.

The woman's eyes flashed open. "Heh?" She asked.

Usopp quickly opened his bag and pulled out the map he was reading earlier. "Ye-Yeah! Look!" He rushed up to her and held the map in front of her. "See? We just came from here, Syrup Island. And we're heading west right now, but we haven't hit Shell Island yet. So, seeing as how you were traveling in the opposite direction we were traveling in, you couldn't possibly be headed for Shell Island."

The woman stared intently at the map, and she appeared to be very confused. "I... I don't understand maps and courses and all that! Make it simple for me!" She demanded.

Usopp was a bit taken aback by that, but he tried. "Okay... Based on your current direction and position, you'd be coming _from_ Shell Island, not heading _towards_ it."

She thought silently, trying to make sense of it. She looked at the map. It was clear she wasn't a navigator, but she could get the gist of a map when she looked at it.

"... So they lied to me." She said to herself. She raised her sword, releasing Luffy from his trap, and sheathed the blade. "Where's the crew again?" She asked.

Usopp silently pointed to the ocean alongside the ship, and she walked towards that direction. As she leaned over the railing, the crew swimming below began yelling to her.

"OOIIIII!! KUINA-SAMA!! Help us up!"

"You took care of those assholes who knocked us in here, right?!"

"Lower the lifeboats so we can get back onboard!"

The woman, or rather, Kuina, fumed.

"SHUT THE HELL UP!! What are you, stupid? I thought we had a deal! I'd sail with you until we got to Shell Island! Why'd we pass it?" She yelled.

The crew blinked and swam silently, until someone worked up the courage to talk.

"We-We-Well, we were originally going to take you to Shell Island, but then Alvida-Sama saw how strong you were, and so she, well, she told us not to land there until she was more famous and stronger..."

"And you thought I wouldn't notice!!" She yelled.

Scared, the crewmate continued. "I-Well-That is, Alvida-Sama figured by that time, she'd be strong enough to defeat you..."

Kuina threw her hands in the air and screamed angrily. "GAH! Of all the low..." She mumbled to herself. Angrily, she walked towards the lifeboats. The ship only had lifeboats on one side, conveniently, they were on the side that the crew had been thrown overboard into. There were only four of them, but if the crew could stand the cramped conditions, they could all fit onto them.

She stood near the lifeboat at the end, withdrew the two katana from their sheathes, and placed the tips on the ground to the right, behind her.

"**Demon... FANG!!**" She yelled, and brought her blades up in a vertical slash. A white, crescent-shaped wave of wind emerged from the force of the swing, slicing through the ropes that suspended the lifeboats before dispersing into the air. They fell into the water with a splash.

The crew scrambled aboard the three boats before realizing that with the ropes cut, there was no way they could use them to get back onto the ship.

"Bastards." Kuina said to herself. She stomped up to Luffy and Usopp angrily, but suddenly changed her expression to a happy one, smiling widely.

"Hey, guys. Could you give me a ride to Shell Island?" She asked cheerfully.

_What a weird girl..._ Usopp thought.

Luffy smiled as well and was about to say "Yes", but Usopp slapped his hand over the captain's mouth.

"No way! Why should we help you? Get there by yourself!" Usopp said.

Kuina sighed and shook her head. "Fine... I'll try it a different way." She put her head down, and raised it with a sinister look in her eyes. "Take me to Shell Island or else I'll slash both of you up into tiny pieces."

Usopp screamed and jumped backwards. _What an evil expression!!_ He thought.

Luffy, however, smiled. "I was gonna say yes anyway." He said happily.

Kuina perked up and matched his smile. "Really? That's great!"

_She went from happy to angry back to happy that quickly?! What's wrong with her?_ Thought Usopp.

Luffy continued. "On one condition. You've gotta join my pirate crew. I want someone as strong as you on this crew!"

With the same enthusiasm, Kuina responded. "I'm a mercenary, though! If you want me on your crew, you've gotta pay. But... I guess if you do something really impressive, I'd be willing to drop the payment and join you guys full time."

"Okay, that's fine with me! I'll show you some cool stuff soon enough! Well, let's go then!"

Kuina backed up and walked towards the cabin door. "Hold on a second. I've gotta go grab my clothes and things." She went inside, leaving the two of them alone for a second.

Usopp took the opportunity to grab Luffy by the shoulders and shake him back and forth. "Luffy, are you crazy?" He said in a bizarre combination of a whisper and a yell. "Why are you letting her onboard our ship?"

Luffy blinked, staring at Usopp with a look that said "Isn't it obvious?"

He said, however, "Why? Because she's strong. And trustworthy. I can tell."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

Usopp felt like he was in a dark room with a solitary spotlight shining down on him. _Is this the kind of crew he's going to assemble? Just based on his first impression of people?_ He thought.

Kuina emerged with a burlap sack over her shoulder. She was now wearing a black, unzipped, hooded jacket over her t-shirt. "Okay, I'm ready to go!"

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Some stupid pirates, no doubt." The trio heard a young woman's voice from above the cabin. They looked up to see an orange-haired girl sitting on the cabin's roof. She wore a blue and white horizontally striped shirt and an orange skirt.

"Is this all this entire ship has as a crew? This is going to be easier than I thought."

"Who the hell are you?" Kuina asked.

The girl tried to look innocent. "Who, me? I'm Nami, the pirate thief. The best around, too. Now, if you don't mind, I think I'll take all the treasure on this ship. Unless you're looking for a fight..." She leapt gracefully from the cabin roof and landed without stumbling.

Kuina stared, unimpressed, and turned away, walking towards Luffy and Usopp. "Go ahead, take it. I don't need it anymore. I'm done with this ship. We're not even part of this ship's crew."

At this, Nami stumbled. "Uh, really?" She asked, an eyebrow raised.

Kuina turned around and looked at her. "Yeah, really. I doubt you'll find much, though. The ship's real crew barely had enough food most of the time. Hell, it was a miracle they could afford to pay me."

With that, Kuina jumped from Alvida's ship onto the Going Merry.

"Hmph. You guys must not be pirates, then. I mean, your ship doesn't have a flag." Nami noted.

Luffy and Usopp joined Kuina on the Going Merry, but before lowering the sail, Luffy turned towards Nami.

"No, we're pirates. We just don't have a flag yet." He smiled and the sail unfurled. Before Nami could respond, the ship had started moving and sailed away, leaving her alone.

"What the hell was up with them?" She asked herself before setting out on her real mission. "Whatever, the treasure's what's really important."

Meanwhile, aboard the Going Merry, Luffy cheered for his new crewmate.

"Welcome aboard our ship, Future-Nakama Kuina!" He said.

"Oi, oi, future nakama? Aren't you getting ahead of yourself?" Kuina winked.

Luffy shook his head. "No way. I'm gonna get you to join this crew fully soon enough."

Usopp, who was currently in the ship's crow's nest, called down. "Oi, Kuina! Why are you headed to Shell Island anyway?"

"Glad you asked. I've gotta rescue a friend of mine who was stupid enough to get himself caught." She responded.

"Who?" Usopp asked.

Kuina smirked wickedly. "The Pirate Hunter, Roronoa Zoro."

TO BE CONTINUED

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Author's Notes: So, Kuina's part of the crew! (Sort of...) Well, a sharp eye would note her attack in this chapter. That's right, instead of being creative, I'm just going to rip of Tales of Symphonia for all of Kuina's attacks! I'm lazy!

No, I'm just kidding. I'm pulling her attacks from a few sources. Zoro's arsenal (they trained in the same dojo, after all), Tales of Symphonia, and my own head.

So, that'll about do it for this chapter. Stay tuned for number 15!

Zoro: Oi, oi, what's up with Nami showing up before me?

Sanji: Ah, Nami-san's so beautiful when she shows up before that shitty swordsman...

Zoro: That didn't even make sense, asshole.

??????: Hey, stop the fighting, both of you! **Tra-**

Smerph: WHOA!! Get back! You're not even supposed to show up until Book 2!

??????: Sorry...


	15. Shell Island

Another Piece

Written By: Smerph Greenfox

Disclaimer: All characters, unless otherwise noted, are copyright of Eiichiro Oda.

Chapter 15: Shell Island

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"The... pirate hunter?" Usopp asked, puzzled.

"Yeah. The pirate hunter. Why, do you know him?" Kuina responded.

Usopp shook his head violently. "No, it's not that! It's the fact that he's a pirate hunter, and you're a pirate! He's gonna attack you if you show your face!"

Kuina was silent for a second, deep in thought.

"Huh. I never thought about that before." She said plainly after a while.

The comment knocked Usopp on his back. "NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT IT?!" He screamed as he stood up. "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!"

"What's wrong with _you_, Usopp? So he's a pirate who hunts. It's not a big deal." Luffy chimed in from his seat on the sheep's head, deciding to include himself in the conversation.

"That's not what a pirate hunter is! This Zoro guy is someone who hunts pirates and kills 'em!" Usopp yelled.

"Oh. Well, someone should tell him he's got it backwards, then." Luffy said nonchalantly.

_What I'd give for a day in his mind..._ Usopp thought sarcastically.

"But, more importantly, what are you gonna do?" He asked Kuina.

Kuina shrugged her shoulders. "Eh, it's not that big a deal. Me and Zoro are friends. He'd never attack me, so I've got nothing to worry about."

Becoming part of the conversation again, Luffy turned around and said "But what about when you become my nakama? Is Zoro gonna be in the crew too?"

Kuina chuckled. "You can try asking him, I guess. I dunno, though. He's a stubborn guy."

Luffy grinned. "Alright, I can't wait to meet him!" He turned back around and faced forward. "Oi, guys! Look!" He pointed ahead, and just coming into sight was Shell Island.

The first thing the trio saw was the giant tower that overwhelmed the rest of the island. Displayed in large black letters was the word "MARINE".

Usopp freaked out. "What's a big marine base like that doing here?!" He squealed.

Kuina perked up, suddenly remembering something. "Oh, that's right! I forgot that Shell Island is a major marine outpost in East Blue! Heh. I guess even if Alvida's crew was going to land here, they'd get blown to bits."

"HOW CAN YOU FORGET SOMETHING LIKE THAT?!" Usopp screamed. He was beginning to get an inkling of Kuina's personality. "Looks like we're dealing with another Luffy here..." He said to himself. "But what are we going to do now? At least we don't have a pirate flag, but it's going to be impossible to get your friend out of here! We're only three people."

The Going Merry slowly coasted into the harbor while he said that, and Luffy lowered the anchor. "Well, it can't hurt to see him at least." He said. "Yosh, let's go!"

Luffy and Kuina jumped from the boat, landing as gracefully as a rubber boy and an absentminded swordswoman could. Usopp, however, took to climbing down like a normal person.

While they walked through the town that led to the marine base, Usopp and Kuina began to notice how nervous the people in the town were.

"Why are they so on edge? Is it because of Zoro?" Usopp asked.

Upon hearing his name, the townspeople within ear's range quickly dived behind any kind of cover they could find.

"Uhh... Okay..." Kuina murmured. "What was that for? The guy should be under arrest here. Captain Morgan caught him."

Upon hearing his name, the townspeople within ear's range quickly dived behind any kind of cover they could find.

Luffy laughed heartily. "Heehee, these guys are a riot!"

Meanwhile, in front of the military base, a young boy stood nervously. His name was Koby, and he was desperately trying to build up some courage.

He was very short, and a bit on the heavy side. He had long pink hair, and he wore glasses. He was wearing a white collared shirt, and black pants. He was nowhere near physically fit. In fact, he was downright weak. And on top of that, he was a coward. It was a miracle he wasn't afraid of his own shadow.

_Alright, Koby. This is it. Just go in and sign up. You can do it this time._ He thought, shaking. His thoughts were cut short when he felt the presence of some people behind him. Turning around and looking up, he saw two young boys and a blue haired woman.

He stared as they completely nonchalantly did the one thing he had been trying to do for years; they walked right up to the wall that separated the village from the marine base's field.

The marine base itself was a massive tower, much larger than any other building on the island. It was surrounded by a brick wall, about four or five feet high.

Luffy jumped up onto the wall and hung over the side, looking around the field.

Kuina leaned against the wall. "Now, let's see. If I were the Marines, I'd probably keep Zoro in the darkest, dampest dungeon in this whole base. The problem is finding that. I mean, we can't very well walk right in and ask to see him."

Usopp's eyes widened, and he raised his hands to form a sort of barrier between him and Kuina. "Whoa, what's all this 'we' business? The deal was we get you to Shell Island! You're on your own for your friend!"

"Ah, lighten up, Usopp. We'll help Kuina find Zoro. After all, she is going to be our nakama soon." Luffy said. Still surveying the field, he saw something out of the ordinary. "Oi, who's that guy?" He suddenly asked.

"What?" Usopp and Kuina said at the same time. They hopped onto the wall, same as Luffy, although Usopp had a bit of trouble, and saw what Luffy was pointing to.

There, out in the middle of the field, was a muscular man tied to a cross. He was wearing a white short sleeved shirt, and black pants. A green sash with black vertical stripes was wrapped around his waist, and a dark green bandanna covered his head and eyes. He was filthy and bleeding. He was only being supported by the ropes around his biceps that held him to the cross.

"Uh... Good question. That actually seems worse than being sent to a dark dungeon." Kuina noted.

Luffy jumped down and looked around, before spotting Koby. "Oi! Pink Hair and Glasses! Can I ask you a question?" He yelled.

Koby, who had been frozen in place as he watched the three of them, suddenly snapped to attention. "Wh... What?" He mumbled.

"Who's that guy over there who's tied up?" Luffy asked.

"What guy?" Koby asked.

Luffy stretched his arm out and grabbed the boy by the collar and dragged him towards him. With Koby still in his hand, he jumped back on the wall and set the boy down on the wall. "That guy."

Koby, in a daze, first thought _his arm stretched out..._ But he came out of it, and got one look at the man Luffy had pointed out and screamed. "TH-TH-TH-THAT'S RORONOA ZORO! THE PIRATE HUNTER!!"

"That's Zoro? No way! Last time I saw him he was just a little guy!" Kuina remarked.

"Alright, this works out perfectly! Just think how easy it'll be to free him now." Luffy cheered.

"FR-FR-FREE HIM!? ARE YOU MAD?! He'll kill everyone here!" Koby shrieked.

Suddenly they heard someone "Shush" them. They turned and saw a little redheaded girl holding a small box and hanging on the wall next to them.

She bravely jumped off the wall and walked up towards the pirate hunter.

"What's she doing?!" Koby whispered. "She's gonna get killed!"

Zoro opened his eyes, barely, and saw the girl. "Oi, go away. You'll be killed if you're caught here."

"I brought you some food." The girl said. She opened the box, and inside were two rice balls. "I've never cooked before, but I hope you like them. You need to eat."

"I don't care! Get out of here now!" Zoro yelled.

A voice came from the gate leading to the tower. "Now, now, that's no way to talk to little girls, Roronoa Zoro."

There walked a boy named Hellmeppo. He was tall, and lanky. He wore a black suit with a purple shirt under it. He had an enormous chin with an equally enormous cleft in it. He entered with two Marine soldiers, who appeared to be afraid of him.

"Who's that?" Usopp asked.

Koby sighed in relief. "That's Hellmeppo. He's the son of Captain Morgan. Now that girl will be safe."

"And you, little girl, what do you think you're doing? That's a dangerous criminal!" He said as he approached them.

The girl shook her head. "You're the bad guy! Zoro's a nice person!"

Hellmeppo reached down and slapped the rice balls out of the girl's hands. He then proceeded to stomp them into the dirt.

The girl sniffled and started crying.

"You! Throw her over the wall!" Hellmeppo roared to a marine, not caring about the girl at all.

Hesitating, the marine complied. "Sorry, miss." As gently as he could, he picked her up and threw her.

Luffy jumped down from the wall and jumped backwards, catching her before she could hit the ground. "That bastard..." He mumbled as he set the girl down. He jumped on the wall and jumped down to confront Hellmeppo, but by the time he did that, the man was already gone.

"Oi, what are _you_ doing here?" Zoro asked.

Luffy turned and walked up to Zoro. "Oh, I'm Luffy. I'm here to set you free. And then I was going to ask if you wanted to be part of my pirate crew."

Zoro turned away. "I don't want to be rescued, and I sure as hell don't wanna be a pirate. I made a deal with that asshole. If I could stay like this for one month, I'd get to go free."

Luffy heard Usopp calling him. "OI, LUFFY! SOME MARINES ARE COMING! You'd better get back here soon!"

"Hee. You're not that bad a guy. I'll be back." Luffy smiled and turned away.

"Wait." Zoro called out. Luffy stopped and walked back. "Pick those up for me." He pointed his head to the rice balls the girl had made for him. "Put 'em in my mouth."

"You sure? They're mostly dirt now." Luffy said, disgusted.

"I don't care! Just feed 'em to me!" Zoro commanded. Luffy complied and Zoro choked them down, coughing up dust after he was done.

"I told you." Luffy said, laughing.

"That girl..."

"Huh? Oh, she's fine. I caught her." Luffy responded.

"Tell her I said they were delicious." Zoro said before he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

"You really aren't a bad guy after all." Said Luffy.

TO BE CONTINUED

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Sanji: "Tell her I said they were delicious." "Look at me, I'm Zoro, I'm really a nice guy behind my asshole exterior!"

Zoro: Shut up, ero-cook! I'll kick your ass if you keep making fun of me!

Sanji: Fat chance, shitty swordsman. Bring it on!

Chopper: Smerph, Sanji and Zoro are fighting again.

Smerph: Let 'em duke it out. Last time I got involved, they nearly broke my jaw.


	16. Roronoa Zoro

Another Piece

Written By: Smerph Greenfox

Disclaimer: All characters, unless otherwise noted, are copyright of Eiichiro Oda.

Chapter 16: Roronoa Zoro

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"Well, now what do we do?" Usopp asked. The gang had relocated to a nearby restaurant, owned by the mother of the little girl, Rika, Luffy had saved.

"Mph dmf mmh mphn? (What do you mean?)" Luffy asked, his face stuffed with food.

"Well, you heard Zoro. He has to stay there for a month. It was part of the deal."

Kuina leaned back in her chair. "Ah, we'll think of something. We'll talk to him later." She looked towards Koby and pointed to him with her fork and asked "Oi, you. Koby was it? What's your story, anyway?"

Koby hesitated. He looked down and fiddled with his hands. "Well, um. It's always been my dream to become a marine, but, well, I'm..." He trailed off.

Luffy waited. "Yeah?"

Koby took a deep breath. "I'm too afraid to even walk into that building!" He blurted out. "I've been a coward all my life. I can never chase my dreams because I'm too afraid of them."

Luffy swallowed the mouthful of food he had taken. "Well, that's pretty stupid. If you have a dream, you should chase after it, no matter what."

Usopp scolded him. "Luffy, not everyone has your courage, you know."

"So?" Luffy said. "Dreams are supposed to be pursued. That's what I've always thought, and that's why I'm chasing my dream."

Koby was intrigued. "What's your dream, Luffy?"

Luffy smiled. "Well, I'm going to be the Pirate King."

Koby fell out of his chair in fear and Kuina chuckled. "So that's your mission..." She said mostly to herself.

"The Pirate King!? That's crazy! Aren't you afraid?! There are so many people out there, trying for that very same goal! What if you die?!" Koby shouted.

Luffy didn't seem fazed at all by Koby's questions. "I decided a long time ago that I would be the Pirate King. But I'm not going to give up because I might die. I'm going to do it, so I'll fight for that cause, even if I die." He said plainly.

Koby was impressed. Floored, actually. He didn't have time to say anything else, however. At that time, Rika and her mother walked in, her mother yelling at her.

"I told you not to go to that marine base, Rika!" She said angrily. "Roronoa Zoro is a dangerous man!"

Rika had an attitude of her own. "No, it's the marines that are bad! Zoro saved me!"

"Zoro saved you? How'd he end up like that anyway?" Kuina asked, raising an eyebrow in disbelief.

"That idiot Helmeppo was walking with his dogs and I accidentally walked in his way! His dogs were going to attack me, but Zoro jumped in front of me and fought them off. Then he made a deal with Helmeppo that he would take the punishment for what I did. He's a really nice man! It's not right, though. Those dogs were mean to everyone. It's not fair that he gets to do bad things and no one can stop him."

"Rika, don't say things like that about the marines!" Her mother gasped.

The door to the diner swung open, smashing against the wall loudly. In walked Helmeppo, proudly smiling and laughing.

"Ah, now, now, little girl. You should know better than to meddle with scum like Roronoa Zoro." He said cockily.

Rika scowled at him. "You just wait." She said. "When Zoro's punishment is up he's going to find you and beat you up!"

Helmeppo scratched his head. "Are you still going on about that? Let me tell you something. That deal we made? It wasn't real. Those who don't listen to my orders and do whatever I ask don't deserve to be free. In fact, I'm going to have him executed tomorrow. People need to learn that I'm the most important person here."

Luffy's eyes flashed in anger. He jumped from his chair, pulled his arm back, and punched the marine boy right in his huge jaw.

Helmeppo fell backwards. He scrambled backwards and pointed at Luffy, his hand shaking. "You... You... You dare to hit me?! You're so lucky my father is away on business right now, or else you'd be dead!!"

"I don't care who your father is!" Luffy yelled right back. "You should always keep up your end of a deal, no matter what!"

"Oi, Luffy, what are you thinking?!" Usopp cried out.

"Geeze, does he ever think before he acts?" Kuina thought aloud.

"You're one to talk..." Usopp mumbled to her.

As Helmeppo ran out of the diner, screaming empty threats to the rubber boy, Luffy turned to his friends.

"Guys, I've made my decision. I'm going to make Zoro my nakama." He said with determination. And he walked out, leaving everyone else in silence.

Luffy headed to the marine base again, hopping the wall with ease. He walked up to the moss haired man with a smile on his face. "Hey, there!" He said cheerfully.

Zoro coughed and rolled his eyes. "You again? I told you already, I'm not going to be a pirate."

Luffy didn't seem to hear him. "Are you a swordsman? Where are your swords?" He asked.

Zoro took a deep breath. He was more fatigued than he thought. "That idiot boy took 'em. If I had 'em, I'd show you firsthand how good I am with a blade."

At that moment, Luffy had an idea. "I know! I'll go get your swords for you, and then you'll have to be my nakama!"

"THAT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS!!" Zoro yelled. But his cry fell on deaf ears. Luffy was already heading towards the marine base.

Luffy looked around, but couldn't find a way inside. "Well, I can't take the front door. I'd get caught right away." He said to himself. He heard noises coming from the very top of the building. "Aha! People are up there!"

On the roof of the base, Helmeppo had gathered several marine soldiers. They were raising a giant statue of a muscular man in a marine uniform. His right hand was replaced with an axe blade and he had a stone guard around his jaw.

"Now be careful with that! That's my father's statue you're raising! Any scratches or marks on it, and it'll be your heads!" Helmeppo roared.

Back on the ground, Luffy had swung his arms behind him before shooting them upwards. They stretched and stretched until they grabbed onto something secure. "**Gomu Gomu no... Rocket!!**" He yelled as he jumped up, his arms retracting and pulling him faster and faster. It turns out he had grabbed onto the giant statue the marines were raising, and when he reached the top, he accidentally pulled it forward.

The statue lost its balance.

It fell forward.

When it hit the ground, it shattered into thousands of pieces.

Luffy, however, landed safely.

The marines froze in fear. Some glanced at Helmeppo, who was so afraid his eyes had begun to tear up.

"Oops, sorry about that." Luffy said, brushing dust off of his shirt. He saw Helmeppo and grinned wildly. "Oi, I was looking for you!" He said as he grabbed the stunned boy's collar and dragged him into the marine base.

"Where are you keeping Roronoa Zoro's swords?" Luffy asked as he dashed through the hallways of the marine base.

"WHAT?! St-Stop dragging me and I'll tell you!" Helmeppo cried out.

Meanwhile, Zoro had more company. But he didn't know it at first. He had passed out due to the heat, until a familiar voice woke him up.

"Well, well, well, Roronoa Zoro. What happened here?" The voice said.

Zoro's eyes flickered open. "Ku... Kuina?" He asked weakly. He looked up to see the blue haired girl smiling at him. Next to her were a boy with a long nose that he didn't know and a boy with pink hair that he didn't know.

"You got it. I heard you were in trouble, so I sailed with Luffy and Usopp here to find you." She said, gesturing to the long nosed boy.

"Luffy... He went into the marine base." Zoro said.

Usopp scratched his head and sighed. "Yeah, I figured he would." He faced Zoro. "But listen, we've gotta get you out of here! That Helmeppo guy? He never intended to keep his promise! You're going to be executed tomorrow if we don't help you escape!"

"What?!" Zoro gasped.

Koby began trying to untie the ropes that bound Zoro to the cross. "I won't ask you to become a pirate with Luffy, but please, you've got to escape. This... This isn't how the marines are supposed to act. With Luffy's help, you can overturn this corruption!" he pleaded.

They then heard the sound of dozens of rifles cocking.

By then, Luffy had gotten the details he needed out of Helmeppo. Zoro's swords were in the boy's room. He kicked the door open and dashed in, looking around frantically. He spotted three katana resting on a wall underneath a window. Two were in black sheathes, almost exactly like Kuina's. The one in the middle, however, was in a white sheathe and its handle was wrapped with white lacing.

He ran to them and stared intently. "But which ones are his?" He pulled Helmeppo up. "Oi, which swords are his?" He asked. But Helmeppo had already passed out.

Something caught Luffy's eye outside of the window. He saw a large group of marines circling the cross where Zoro was hanging from. "Damn it, no time! I'll just have to take all of 'em!" He grabbed all three blades and tied them around his chest with a nearby rope. He punched the glass in the window, shattering it. He hooked his fingers on the windowsill and walked backwards. "**Gomu Gomu no Rocket!**" He yelled, launching himself out of the window.

A marine general stepped forward and pointed at the intruders. "Shoot them!" He ordered.

_I can't die here! My dream... Our dream!_ Zoro thought.

The same thought went through Kuina's mind.

The marines pulled the triggers, and Koby, Usopp, Zoro, and Kuina flinched, bracing themselves.

Fortunately, the shots never made contact. Well, not with them at least. They opened their eyes to see Luffy standing in front of them, his skin being stretched where the bullets had made contact. "That... Won't work!" He cheered as the bullets reflected back at the marines.

Kuina, Zoro, and Koby were dumbfounded. "What are you?!" They all screamed at the same time.

"Me? Oh, I ate the Gomu Gomu fruit, so now I'm a rubber man." He said nonchalantly.

TO BE CONTINUED

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Chopper: At the rate this story is progressing, we'll never get to my arc...

Franky: Your arc? What about mine?!

Smerph: Heh... Sorry, guys. I'm working really hard, I promise!


	17. A Trip to the Past

Another Piece

Written By: Smerph Greenfox

Disclaimer: All characters, unless otherwise noted, are copyright of Eiichiro Oda.

Chapter 17: A Trip to the Past

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_Alright, today's the day!_ Thought Zoro, standing on a tall hill overlooking his hometown. As he dashed down the hill into the town down below, he thought, _I've been training for a while now. I'll show those guys down there how strong I am!_

Roronoa Zoro was a ten year old boy with short green hair. He was wild, and uncontrollable. For as long as he could remember, he had spent every day challenging anyone he could to a fight. He loved to fight. He loved to show off his strength.

But there was one thing that always bothered him. In the town he lived in, there was a dojo that trained its students in the art of Nitoryu, Two-Sword-Style. What bothered him was the discipline they went through every day. He thought it was ridiculous that they spent so much time meditating when they should be fighting. So he made it his goal to prove that he was right by challenging the dojo to a swordfight.

Unfortunately, the boy had never picked up a sword in his life.

Regardless, he thought it wouldn't be too hard to understand. To him, it was like swinging a stick around, only this one was made of steel and could cut people.

He pounded on the door to the dojo and was greeted by a kind-looking man in traditional samurai garb. His black hair was tied back in a ponytail, and he wore glasses.

"May I help you?" He asked.

"Heh. You bet you can. I'm here to challenge your best swordsman to a sword fight. Right here, right now." Zoro said coolly.

The man smiled and chuckled warmly. "Is that so? And what is your reasoning behind this sudden demand, young man?"

Zoro tilted his head to meet the man's eyes. "I'll tell you why. I've seen you just sitting there and training. You never go out and fight people. Swordsmen are supposed to fight, fight, fight! That's how I know you're all weak. If you were strong, you wouldn't be afraid to fight people."

Adjusting his glasses a bit, the man stepped back, welcoming Zoro in. "Do you really believe that? Very well, the dojo accepts your challenge. My best student will show you the amount of discipline required to wield a sword."

Zoro raised a hand and turned his head away as he walked in. "Whatever. If that's true, and I can't beat your best, then I'll join your dojo for a year."

The man laughed. "My, my, we are confident, aren't we? Follow me to the practice grounds." He led Zoro to a large, open room in the dojo. It was empty, as the students were outside doing other training.

"Wait here. There is a barrel over there with training swords you can use. Pick any and as many as you wish." The man said, gesturing to a barrel to the left of the door. With that, he left the room.

Zoro approached the barrel and pulled out several wooden swords. They were light and easy to hold. He looked them over, not quite sure what to be looking for. He picked two at random and put the rest away.

The man entered the room again after a few minutes, followed by fifteen or so students of varying ages.

"Sensei, is this the kid?" One of them asked the man.

He nodded. "Yes, this is... Oh, I'm sorry! I never got your name!"

"I'm Roronoa Zoro. Now, which one of these is your best student?" Zoro responded impatiently.

"That'd be me." A voice called out. Behind the sensei, a twelve year old blue haired girl walked in slowly. She had a wooden sword in each hand, the one in her right hand resting on her shoulders.

"What?! A girl? This can't be your best student! She's a girl!" Zoro protested.

The girl just scoffed and looked away, but the sensei spoke for her.

"I assure you, Kuina is the best here. She's defeated even me in practice duels numerous times!" He said almost proudly.

Kuina yawned. "Sensei, do I really have to fight this guy? It's so annoying when I get interrupted."

"I know, but he insisted. It wouldn't hurt to duel someone not from this dojo once in a while."

Kuina walked forward. "Fine, fine." She said. "But from looking at the way he's standing, I'd say he's not from any dojo."

Zoro snapped. "HEY! What's that mean?! So I've never picked up a sword before! I'm still strong, and I'll still kick your ass!" He yelled.

Kuina wasn't fazed. She knelt down and placed the sword in her left hand on the ground. "I'm not too good with one sword, but it'll still be enough to beat you." She boasted.

The sensei called for the match to begin, and Zoro leapt forward, swinging both swords downward. Kuina merely raised her sword and blocked both of them. Without saying a word, she pushed them away, and almost knocked the moss-haired boy to the ground.

Zoro regained his balance quickly and charged again. This time he alternated his arms, swinging them in a blind fury. However, Kuina managed to sidestep and block them all with grace. She didn't even attempt to attack him.

As the boy sped up his assault, Kuina had to forego her nonchalant dodging and jump backwards, out of his range. "Okay..." She said, swallowing hard. "You're fast, and unpredictable. I'll give you that."

"But..." She said as Zoro tried another vertical strike with both arms simultaneously. She sidestepped to her right to avoid the attack this time. With both of his arms lowered, Zoro couldn't move fast enough to block when Kuina swung her sword horizontally and caught him in the back of the neck.

Zoro's hands released the swords and he fell forward, landing flat on his face. Kuina continued. "Speed's worthless if you don't know how to use it." She smirked. Zoro rolled over on his back, panting.

_I can't believe I lost!_ He thought to himself. He opened his eyes to see the girl holding out her left hand to help him up.

"That'll be one of the things you'll learn during your year here." She said with a welcoming smile. Hesitantly, he took her hand and stood up.

Months passed, and Zoro learned all about proper sword technique. He was a fast learner, and incredibly strong. His skill, combined with his wild attitude created a unique style that was deadly to his fellow students.

With ease, he could triumph over almost everyone in his class, and even the teachers admitted defeat to him. And yet, there was still one thing he could not accomplish.

Zoro felt the sting of the wooden blade as it came crashing down on his head. He fell forwards, but caught himself on his hands and knees.

"What's the score now, Zoro? 1,024 to zero if I remember correctly." Kuina taunted. Zoro pounded the ground with his fist.

_Dammit! I lost again! I was so sure this time, too!_

Kuina, again, stretched out a hand to help the boy up. He took it, like always, and picked up his swords. Without saying a word, or even looking at her, he walked towards the door.

"Zoro, come on. It's not that..." Kuina started to say, but Zoro was clearly ignoring her. He walked outside to continue his training. It was the one thing she hated about fighting him. Despite a rough start, the two of them became fast friends as Zoro spent his days at the dojo. They laughed and talked about everything. But every time the kid lost a duel, he wouldn't even respond to her for hours. She hated it, but even moreso, she hated the idea of throwing a match just so Zoro could have one win under his belt. If he ever found out she did that...

Zoro returned to the training grounds. Standing tall in the dirt ground were several wooden poles wrapped in stiff padding. They circled Zoro, and it was this place that he could let out all of his frustration. Which he did.

In a fury, he struck out at the pillars, the blows making a loud smacking noise. "WHY?!" He yelled loudly. Each word was simultaneous with a strike. "WHY?!" Smack! "CAN'T" Smack! "I" Smack! "BEAT" Smack! "HER?!" Smack!

With all his fury, he struck one pole. The force of his blow coupled with his rage caused it to shatter into pieces with a loud crack.

He stopped, panting. _What is it I don't have?_

And so, this continued for several more months. The year Zoro had promised to train at the dojo was almost up, and the score was still stacking in Kuina's favor.

One day before Zoro's time was up, their 2000th duel took place. Again, Zoro suffered defeat. As he stormed out again, his classmates tried to cheer him up.

"Hey, come on, Zoro. It's not fair. She's the sensei's daughter. He's probably teachin' her special techniques and stuff. It's not your fault." said a silver haired boy.

"Yeah! Saga's right! I mean, you can even beat the teachers! And Sensei himself!" said another student.

Zoro ignored them of course, and feeling dejected, the students sighed and left him alone.

Meanwhile, Kuina was headed to dinner when she overheard her father and another teacher.

"It would appear your daughter is still the best. Roronoa Zoro still can't defeat her. You must be proud." the teacher said.

Kuina's father sighed. "Yes. It's a shame, though, to think that he will naturally surpass her. Men are stronger than women, after all. It's only natural that she can only be so good with a blade. I haven't told her this yet. I wouldn't want to hurt her like that."

Kuina gasped when she heard her father. True, it was a thought that had entered her mind before. Outsiders were known to look down on her skills for merely being a girl, but her father's words confirmed it. She could only be so skilled.

Tears burned her eyes, and she ran off before the adults noticed the noise.

She sat on a bench next to a dirt path that led into the town. It was a common place for the dojo to train, so it was only natural that she would head there. She heard footsteps, as well as the sound of steel rattling. She quickly wiped the tears from her eyes and looked up to see Zoro standing, in front of her. In his hands were two katana, one in a white sheathe, and the other in a dark blue sheathe.

"This is it, Kuina. One. Last. Duel." He said to her.

He held out the white blade. "This is your katana, right?" The two of them, top of their class, were both awarded real, metal katana several months ago.

She took it. "Steel? Are you sure?" She asked him. "And there's only one. You know that both of us are trained in Nitoryu."

"It's more fitting this way." Zoro explained. "Our final duel should be done without the handicap of training swords. And it's better that we use our own swords."

"No holding back, you know." Kuina stated.

"I know." Was the response.

In an instant, the sheathes clattered on the ground and the metallic ring of steel colliding with steel was heard in the night air.

They clashed again, and again. Their movements were slow, but solid. They met each other blow for blow, holding once in a prolonged struggle. They both pushed on each other, and jumped backwards.

Panting, Kuina smiled. "Heh. It's harder with the real deal. They're heavier."

"That makes it more of a challenge!" Zoro cried, charging again. Kuina blocked it easily and pushed the sword out of her way with her own katana. She tried a vertical strike downward, but Zoro recovered his balance quickly and caught it with his blade before it could cut into his shoulder.

With all of his force, he pushed upward, struggling to force Kuina off balance. With one final burst of energy, he overpowered her, and pushed her katana off of his. The push forced her katana out of her hands and it spiraled overhead, landing several feet away, and sinking slightly into the soft dirt. She fell backwards, landing on her back.

Zoro pointed his sword at her, inches away from her nose. She flinched, and Zoro pulled it away, sticking the blade in the dirt next to him.

Panting, he slowly extended his right arm to her. "2000... to... one..." He said, panting and smiling proudly.

Kuina took his hand as tears formed in her eyes again. "Damn it... It's already starting..." She mumbled.

Zoro was confused. "What's starting?"

Kuina let go of his hand and sat on the bench again, holding her head in her hands. "Zoro... You're lucky you're a boy. Because I'm a girl, I'll never be as good as you with a sword. I just thought I'd be able to enjoy being better than you for a little longer. I mean, I'm only thirteen."

He became angry. "Who the hell told you that?! You've beaten me 2000 times! Who cares if you're a girl?! A sword doesn't care if its wielder is a man or a woman! All it cares about is if its owner is worthy to hold it!" He yelled. "Saying stuff like that. You're a disappointment, Kuina!"

Kuina gasped. She looked at him through teary eyes. "A... disappointment?"

"Yeah! That's right! I thought you were better than that, Kuina. I thought you knew better than to believe crap like that." He sat on the bench next to her. "You know I'm leaving the dojo tomorrow, right?"

"I know."

Zoro got up and pulled his sword out of the ground. He picked up his sheathe, placed the sword in it, and walked to Kuina's blade. He put that back in its sheathe and returned to the bench. He handed the blade to her and sat down again. "I have a dream, thanks to you." He said.

All Kuina could make was a "Hn?" noise and lift her head to look at him.

His eyes met hers. "I want to become the best swordsman in the world." He said plainly. "The best."

Kuina's eyes widened. "No way..."

"What is it?" Zoro asked.

She laughed slightly. "I was going to go for the same goal." She said.

Zoro stood up. "Then let's make a promise, right here, right now! One day, one of us will be the best! And it won't matter that I'm a boy and you're a girl! One day, we'll have our 2002nd duel! And at that point, we'll decide once and for all who the best is!"

Kuina smiled widely, her spirits lifted higher than they had ever been. "And as proof of that deal, we'll trade katana." She said, holding out the white blade. "On our last duel, and our last duel only, we'll switch back. This way, I'll get stronger with your help, and you'll get stronger with my help."

Zoro took her sword and handed his own to her. "It's a promise, then. We may not know the day or the place, but we WILL meet again, Kuina!" He said proudly. "We've got a long road ahead of us, and it'll be different for both of us, but it has the same destination! To be the world's greatest swordsman!"

"To be the world's greatest swordsman!" Kuina responded.

TO BE CONTINUED

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Sanji: Oi, oi, what's this shit?! Over six pages for that shitty swordsman's backstory? Well, I guess I can forgive it, since it's also the beautiful Kuina-chan's backstory as well.

Kuina: Don't call me that yet! We technically haven't met yet!

Sanji: Yes, Kuina-chan!

Kuina: Didn't I just say...?

Usopp: Don't bother with that. Sanji's a dumbass.

Sanji: What was that?!

Usopp: Eep! **Kemuri Boshi**! (Smoke Star) Run away!

Smerph: Uh... This is kinda the first time I've written swordfights. So, if you're going to review this chapter, could you comment on those parts?


	18. Making Dreams Come True

Another Piece

Written By: Smerph Greenfox

Disclaimer: All characters, unless otherwise noted, are copyright of Eiichiro Oda.

Chapter 18: Making Dreams Come True

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"Im... Impossible..." A marine whispered. "Bullets just bounce off him!"

"He's a rubberman. That... That means he ate a Devil's Fruit." Another responded. "It gives you incredible powers, at the expense of you never being able to swim again. Supposedly, there are thousands of different Fruits, but only one of each kind."

"Then that boy...?" A third marine started to say.

"Oh, by the way!" Luffy said cheerfully, turning around to face Zoro. He removed the swords from his back and held them forward. "I brought your swords. But I don't know which ones are yours."

"Well, only two of them would be his. We trained under two-sword style." Kuina explained.

Zoro scoffed. "A lot has changed since we parted ways, Kuina. I've grown stronger. Now I practice Santoryu."

At that time, Helmeppo emerged from the tower, furious. "OI, YOU STUPID MARINES! WHY ARE YOU JUST STANDING AROUND?!" He yelled. "SHOOT THEM!!"

A marine stuttered through his explanation. "We-we can't shoot them! Our bullets just bounce off! That boy has the power of the Gomu Gomu Fruit!" He said, gesturing towards Luffy.

Stomping about, Helmeppo's voice got louder and angrier. "WELL, IF GUNS WON'T WORK, CUT THEM TO PIECES WITH YOUR SWORDS!!"

Hesitantly, the marines drew their swords and charged forward.

The pirates, Koby, and Zoro went into a panic.

"Hurry up! Untie me!"

"I'm trying!"

"They're coming for us! So this is how it ends for the Great Captain Usopp-Sama..."

"I can't die yet!"

"Oops, I think I made that one tighter."

"Forget it! Just cut the ropes and give me my swords!"

In the next second, the marines were on them. Sort of.

Their arms crossed in front of them and their swords crossed above their heads, Kuina and Zoro had crouched down and formed a shield of sorts, blocking and holding back every marine's sword.

The black katana, Zoro held in his hands. But the handle of his white sword rested in-between his teeth. Somehow, he was still able to talk clearly.

"Does anyone here want to die?" He asked menacingly.

"Heh, so that's Santoryu. Not bad, Zoro." Kuina noted.

The marines began sobbing for fear of their lives. Ignoring them, Zoro's eyes turned to Luffy, who was clearly impressed. Usopp and Koby, not so much impressed as they were terrified beyond all reason. "Well, it looks like I don't have much of a choice now." He said to the boy. "I've just made myself an enemy of the Marines. You've got yourself a pirate!"

"Alright!" Luffy cheered. "And for my first order as your captain, I order you to get down!"

Zoro and Kuina crouched down even further, not knowing what to expect. Usopp had a slight idea, though.

"**Gomu Gomu no... MUCCHI!!** (Whip)" He yelled as he roundhouse kicked his right leg, causing it to stretch out. It caught the entire group of marines being held in place by the swordsmen's blades, and sent them flying.

"Amazing..." Zoro gasped.

"So that's the power of a Devil's Fruit..." Kuina remarked.

Helmeppo stood terrified. Desperate, he pulled out a pistol. Clearly, he had forgotten the marine's words. His hands trembling, he tried to sound threatening. "St-St-Stand back! I'm the son of Captain Morgan! I'll shoot you if I have to!"

Luffy turned to him. "Try it if you want." He said nonchalantly.

Helmeppo did indeed try. However, his shaking hands, doubled with the fact that he had no idea how to use a firearm properly, caused his shot to miss completely. This made Luffy chuckle.

"Oi, Usopp! How about you show him what a marksman can do?" He called to his brother.

"Heh. No problem, captain." Usopp said, rubbing his nose. He pulled out his trusty slingshot, loaded a shot into its pouch, and pulled it back. "**Namari Boshi!** (Lead Star)" He yelled, and let the shot fly. It hit Helmeppo square on his forehead, and he fell backwards, unconscious.

Kuina and Zoro stood up, and sheathed their swords. "Damn... I hope the marines aren't too pissed off at us for kicking his ass like that." Zoro joked.

The marines stood up, shaking from the kick. They looked at their unconscious commander and paused. There was a silence before they all began cheering wildly, throwing their hats in the air in celebration.

"We're free!" They shouted. "We're free!"

The Strawhats, Kuina, and Koby blinked, confused.

"Uh... what now?" Kuina asked.

Amidst the celebration, one marine explained. "That boy, Captain Morgan left him in charge while he left to work at Conomi Island for a while. But with him being beaten like that, we're free to take over, and serve as Marines should!"

Later, the new crew, along with Kuina and Koby were gathered once more at Rika's mother's restaurant.

"Here's to our new nakama!" Luffy cheered. They crashed their mugs together with a shout of "Kanpai!"

"And here's to Koby's bravery!" Kuina cheered. Once more, they crashed their mugs together with a cry of "Kanpai!"

"And here's to our journey on the Grand Line!" Usopp cheered. A third time, a shout of "Kanpai!"

Zoro chugged his drink and wiped his lips with the back of his arm. "The Grand Line, eh? So that's where we're headed."

Rika's mother set down another plate of meat for Luffy. "You know, if you really are serious about going to the Grand Line, I've heard of someone who's been there. He isn't too far away from here."

"Hmm? Who's that?" Luffy asked.

"His name is Red-Leg Zeff. He's a former pirate who now owns the floating restaurant Baratie." She explained. "Rumor has it he's been to the Grand Line, and he even chronicled his journey there."

Luffy's eyes glowed with that familiar sparkle of adventure. "Alright! Let's check it out!"

"I can't believe you, Luffy. You're really serious about becoming the Pirate King!" Koby remarked. "I... I think I finally have the courage I need to become a marine." He said quietly.

Coincidentally, a group of marines entered the restaurant right after Koby finished saying that.

"Excuse me. I know you were the ones who saved this village, but I'm afraid we can't harbor pirates any longer. I'll have to ask you to leave immediately." A captain said.

"Already? Aw... I just got another plate of food, too." Luffy sighed.

Usopp looked down to see his plate missing. "OI, LUFFY, YOU DIDN'T GET A NEW ONE, YOU STOLE MINE!" He yelled.

Zoro stood up. "Well, if we gotta leave, we gotta leave. I guess I better get used to this."

Luffy and Usopp followed, and the captain turned to Kuina. "Aren't you with them?" He asked her.

She didn't seem to be listening. She was still eating.

"Excuse me! I asked you a question." The captain said.

She still kept eating.

"MA'AM! I'M TRYING TO TALK TO YOU!!" He yelled, infuriated.

Kuina sat up, startled. "What!? Were you talking to me?" She asked.

The captain sighed. "Yes. I asked you if you were one of that boy's crewmates."

"Oh, uh.." She hesitated, turning and looking into Luffy's eyes. "Uh... Yeah. Yeah, I'm with them."

Luffy smiled a bit as Kuina picked up her equipment.

Rika's mother cleared her throat. "Oh, if you're going to Baratie, here." She walked up to Luffy and handed him a rolled parchment. "This is a map to its location. Good luck on your journey."

Luffy took it, thanked her, and walked to the door with his new nakama.

"And you?" The marine captain said to Koby.

Koby stumbled through his words, intimidated by the man. Fortunately, Luffy took the initiative. "Oh, that's Koby." He said plainly. "He's not with us, but he does want to be a marine, like you. It's his dream."

"Is this true?" the captain asked.

Koby cringed, working up the courage to respond. "YES! IT'S TRUE!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. "I've wanted to be a marine all my life! I want to fight the corruption in our ranks!"

"Good job, kid." Luffy said, walking out of the door with a proud smile on his face.

_I even needed him to speak my dream..._ Koby thought. _Well, no more! It's time to be strong, like him! We'll both pursue our dreams, Luffy! And even though I'll be a marine, I'll... I'll still root for you._

With that, Luffy walked out of Koby's life for what he thought would be the final time.

TO BE CONTINUED

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Ichigo: Hey, there AP fans. Ichigo Kurosaki here.

Naruto: And I'm Naruto Uzumaki! Believe it!

Ichigo: We're taking over for a bit to tell you about the new girl, Kuina.

Naruto: According to her bio, she's 21, making her the oldest member of the Strawhat crew so far.

Ichigo: It also says that it's nearly impossible to tell if she's better than Zoro or not right now.

Smerph: And I intend to keep it that way! It's more interesting, if you ask me...

Naruto: Hey, this is interesting. It says that Kuina has a hard time paying attention to, well, anything.

Ichigo: Well, all the One Piece characters have their little quirks. That's Eiichiro Oda's style.

Naruto: Oh, speaking of which, congratulations to One Piece for being picked up by FUNimation! Finally, you guys'll know what it's like to have a GOOD company dubbing you. Like us!


	19. The Flag

Another Piece

Written By: Smerph Greenfox

Disclaimer: All characters, unless otherwise noted, are copyright of Eiichiro Oda.

Chapter 19: The Flag

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And like that, the Strawhat crew was back on the deck of the Going Merry. Luffy had taken his seat on the ship's bow, like usual, while Zoro and Kuina stood side by side not too far away, leaning over the railing.

"So, I guess this kinda puts a kink in our plans, huh Zoro?" Kuina asked.

"Eh, not really. So what if we're on the same ship? We'll just get a chance to see how we progress more often." He responded.

"Yeah... I just wanted our final duel to be a surprise, that's all..." She pouted.

Zoro scratched the back of his head and yawned. "By the way, when did you leave the dojo and become a pirate?"

He waited for a response but nothing came.

"Kuina?" He looked at her, and noticed her attention had now been drawn to the waves splashing against the ship. "Kuina!" He yelled.

"Huh?" She asked innocently, looking up.

Zoro sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I see you still can't pay attention to anything." He mumbled.

"Well, at least I can find my way around without getting lost every five steps!" She cried.

"What was that?!"

"You heard me!"

And just like that, they were fighting. Zoro pulled her hair while she pounded on his stomach. She pushed herself free and clocked him with a left hook to the face that sent him falling. When he hit the ground, he swung his leg horizontally, sweeping Kuina off her feet, making her fall similarly. As Zoro tried to get to his feet, Kuina beat him to it. She tackled him back down and wailed on his face.

He grabbed one of her wrists and used his other hand to push on her face away from him, preventing her from hitting him more.

At that time, Usopp came out of the cabin, the map Rika's mother had given him in hand.

"Okay, if I'm even reading this right, we need to..." He looked up to see Kuina and Zoro beating each other up, while Luffy sat oblivious.

"OI, WHAT'S GOING ON OUT HERE?!" He roared angrily. "WHY ARE YOU TWO FIGHTING?!"

Zoro and Kuina stopped struggling against each other to look at him with confusion. They both stood up and brushed themselves off.

"I dunno, it's just something we do." Zoro said.

"Oww..." Kuina mumbled, rubbing her neck. "That really hurt. You're mean, Zoro."

"No, you're mean." He responded.

"No, you are!" Kuina yelled.

"OI, STOP IT!" Usopp roared again. "Luffy, why aren't you stopping them?!" He yelled to the captain.

Luffy turned around curiously. "Huh? Were you guys having fun or something?" He asked his new crewmates.

"Something like that." Kuina responded happily. "Now, what were you saying, Usopp?"

_She's so quick to change..._ Usopp thought. "A-Anyway, I was trying to tell you that if I'm reading this map right, we'll have to change our direction a bit if we want to make it to the Baratie." He explained. "A little bit more... north." he continued, looking at the map to confirm it.

"Well, then, let's change the direction!" Luffy ordered, jumping from his seat and onto the deck. "But before that, we need to do something.

The crew simultaneously turned to Luffy as he pointed to the top of the crow's nest. "We need to get a pirate flag! Our symbol as the Strawhat Pirates!" He said defiantly.

Zoro nodded, looking at the empty space. "Well, he's right. We aren't really pirates without it."

"There's paint and black cloth down below in the men's quarters, Luffy. Could you go and-" Usopp tried to finish, but Luffy had already dashed down below.

The crew stared at the hatch that led to the men's quarters for a few minutes, not saying anything. In a few minutes, Luffy burst up, surprising all of them.

"Okay, it's finished!" He cheered. He held out his handiwork for them to see. It... resembled a skull. In some way. There was what could be straw hat hanging off of the skull's top. The paint wasn't even dry, and it ran down the flag.

"THAT'S NOT OUR FLAG!!" Zoro and Kuina yelled, smacking Luffy in the back of the head.

Usopp sighed. "It figures. Luffy doesn't have any artistic talent. That can't even count as abstract art. I guess I'll paint it."

Usopp's flag was much better, and much cleaner. It had a grin resembling Luffy's, and a straw hat rested on the skull's head. It had just the right amount of silliness that Luffy was known for, but it was still a Jolly Roger, and therefore something to fear.

"That looks great, Usopp!" Kuina said.

"Heh. When we were kids, I'd always paint graffiti on the walls, so I'm a pretty good artist." Usopp smirked, feeding his own ego.

Luffy was very impressed. "That's amazing! I always forget how good you are at that! Do you think you can paint it on the sail, too?" He asked.

Usopp obliged, and soon, the Going Merry was finally complete as a pirate ship. Wearing a giant replica of the Jolly Roger on her sail, she showed her true colors.

"It's official, this is our ship! The Going Merry!" Luffy cheered.

"Now, all we have to do is assemble our crew." Zoro commented. "We'll need a cook, a doctor, a shipwright, a navigator..."

"I can handle wounds. Being a pirate, you learn how to patch yourself up. And maybe we can pick a cook up at the Baratie. It's a floating restaurant, right?" Kuina asked.

"Ah, crap!" Usopp gasped. "I forgot! We need to change our direction a bit! Zoro, help me with the whipstaff."

Zoro sighed, but he obliged and walked into the lounge where the whipstaff was. Luffy stared at his ship's proud flag, blowing in the wind for a few minutes, smiling proudly. After getting his fill, he turned and resumed his position on the bow.

Kuina resumed leaning over the starboard railing, staring at the waves crashing against the ship as she cut through the water.

And so, the Strawhat crew finally began their day-to-day lives aboard the Going Merry.

Likewise, it was a normal day on the Baratie. Of course, our definition of normal is often very different from the one found in East Blue.

Lt. Iron Fist Fullbody was one of the most respected lieutenants in his region. He was popular with civilians, and well-known for his strict and absolute method of dealing with pirates. No mercy, was his policy. All the fathers wanted their sons to be like him, and all the mothers wanted their daughters to marry him.

As a matter of fact, he was currently on a date with a lovely lady at the Baratie.

"Ah, this truly is fine wine." He said smugly to his date. "Lightly acidic, dry, a rich color. If anything, I'd say it's North Blue's finest wine! Isn't that right, waiter?" He said, turning to the man in the suit standing next to the table.

The man's name was Sanji. He was 19 years old, and from the neck down, he was very presentable. A clean, black suit, a blue shirt with black pinstripes, a solid black tie and shiny shoes. However, his face left much to be desired. A hand rolled cigarette dangled from his lips. He had long blonde hair that covered his left eye. His eyebrows curled into a spiral, and he was unshaven. A patch of stubble covered his chin.

"South Blue, actually. And I'm not a waiter. I'm the head chef. All the waiters left a few days ago." Sanji said plainly.

The restaurant burst into laughter at this, as well as Fullbody's date.

"Ah, yes, yes. South Blue. I, uh, guess my palate was a bit off..." He mumbled. _What the hell?! I set that up with the owner before I got here!_

"Of course. Enjoy your soup. And to save further embarrassment, the chicken came from West Blue." Sanji said, causing the restaurant to snicker. "As for you, my dear lady, I should let you know that I myself am preparing your main course. A beautiful woman such as yourself should get the best meal I can prepare." He started to walk away, and didn't see Fullbody secretly put a plastic fly in his bowl.

"Waiter! What is the meaning of this?!" He yelled.

Sanji sighed and turned around. "I told you, I'm the head chef."

"Whatever. What is this fly doing in my soup?!" Fullbody demanded.

Sanji leaned in, looking carefully. "At the risk of sounding cliché, my good sir, I believe it's doing the backstroke."

In a fit of rage, Fullbody smashed the table in half with his metal glove, causing the food and wine to crash to the floor.

"I ought to shut this restaurant down for such insolence!" He yelled.

"If you had just taken the fly out, you could have eaten that..." Sanji mumbled, his visible eye glaring.

A chef serving another table knew what was coming. He dashed to the kitchen. "Oi, everyone! Sanji's at it again!" He screamed. The chefs started running out into the restaurant, but it was too late.

Sanji was holding Fullbody's bruised, unconscious body by the throat with one hand. In the other, he took a drag of his cigarette.

"Never offend a cook. And never EVER waste food in front of him." Sanji growled through the smoke of his cigarette.

"SANJI! AGAIN?!" a rough, old voice echoed from the kitchen.

TO BE CONTINUED

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Luffy: Whoo hoo! Now we're a real pirate crew, with a flag and everything!

Sanji: Plus, I've made my awesome appearance.

Nami: That's great and everything... But... WHEN AM I GONNA SHOW UP AGAIN?! It's not fair! I should've come before Usopp did!

Sanji: Nami-san is so beautiful when she's upset! 3 3


	20. Chore Boy

Another Piece

Written By: Smerph Greenfox

Disclaimer: All characters, unless otherwise noted, are copyright of Eiichiro Oda.

Chapter 20: Chore Boy

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Luffy yawned loudly as he stared off into the distance. Suddenly, something caught his eye.

"Oi! Everyone! I see it! I see the Baratie!" He yelled to his crewmates.

Zoro woke up from his nap on the deck, while Usopp and Kuina emerged from inside the cabin.

Kuina had changed her outfit into a solid black tank top and a pair of brown cargo shorts. This exposed her tattoo almost completely. The pattern extended from the left side of her back to her left elbow. It was nothing more than wavy black shapes, but they were arranged in a way to resemble an angel's wing on her back, and a flamelike pattern from her shoulder to her elbow.

"That's it! That's the Baratie, all right!" Usopp cheered as he ran up to the bow of the ship and leaned over the railing.

Meanwhile, inside said restaurant, Sanji was greeted with an unwanted voice.

"Oi, Sanji! Don't you know anything?! The customer is to be treated with the utmost respect! The customer is king!" The man said. He was a muscular man, with gigantic forearms, a nearly shaved head, and a body covered in hair. This was Patty, one of the best cooks in the restaurant.

"Shut up, Patty. This doesn't concern you. This shithead was insulting my cooking, so I beat him up." Sanji said calmly.

Patty growled like a bear. "Damn it, that's it! I'm sick of having to put up with this!" He ran to the kitchen and yelled out "Chef Zeff! Chef Zeff! Sanji's doing it again! I'm tired of stopping him! He's your pupil, you do something about it!"

Chef Zeff was busy peeling potatoes at the time. He was an old man, wrinkled and going grey. He had a long, long, LONG mustache that was braided and stood straight. To complete the look, he also had a bushy goatee on his chin. His right foot was gone, replaced with a sturdy wooden peg. He wore traditional chef garments, the hat and coat, and an apron.

"Stupid shitty eggplant. Can't do anything yourself, can you?" Zeff groaned. He put down the potato peeler and wiped his hands on his apron. "Alright, I'll go teach him a lesson."

He walked out into the dining area where Fullbody was currently crawling away from Sanji, while he took a drag on his cigarette.

"Oi, shitty baby! What the hell are you doing?" Zeff demanded.

"Oh, it's you, shitty geezer. Nothing. This guy insulted my cooking and ruined a perfectly good meal." Sanji responded coolly.

"That's no reason to kick his ass!" Zeff yelled.

"It's all the reason I need!" Sanji explained. "My cooking is the best here and you know it!"

Fullbody crawled to Zeff and stumbled to his knees. "I'll shut this whole place down! The service is crap, and you won't do anything about it! You're supposed to be chefs! And this is how you treat people?!" He yelled. "I'm 'Iron Fist' Fullbody! What I say goes!"

"Don't insult my cooks!" Zeff roared, kicking him in the stomach with his peg leg. The kick sent him flying towards the door, and coincidentally, this happened exactly the same time the Strawhats were entering.

Luffy pushed open the door, and was greeted with Fullbody flying towards him. They collided, but Luffy instinctively grabbed onto the doorframe with his hands and feet. His limbs stretched out, and snapped back, sending Fullbody flying again like a slingshot. Fullbody smashed through several tables and chairs, shattering them to planks of wood, before finally stopping. By smashing into the wall.

Nobody said anything for a couple seconds, too stunned to respond. Luffy surveyed the damage.

"Wow, I really shot that guy out." He remarked, impressed by his own feats.

"OI OI OI, LUFFY! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!" Usopp yelled out. "THAT'S NO WAY TO WALK INTO A RESTAURANT! LOOK AT ALL THE DAMAGE YOU DID!!"

"Well, that guy flew at me, what was I supposed to do?" Luffy responded.

"You're not supposed to launch him back, that's for sure…" Zoro said to himself.

Fullbody pulled himself to his feet and stumbled towards the door. "That's it! I'm leaving! I can't take this kind of stuff anymore!" He rushed out and quickly boarded his ship, leaving his date behind.

"What an asshole…" Sanji mumbled.

"Mr. Chef, may I have some more wine, please?" Fullbody's former date asked politely.

"Of course you may, shining figure of beauty!" He cried, with hearts in his eyes.

"Oi, you." Zeff motioned to Luffy. "Come with me. We need to talk about the damage you've done."

Luffy followed Zeff into the kitchen, while the rest of the crew was seated.

"Man, what is that guy gonna do to him?" Usopp asked.

Kuina leaned back in her chair and slowly chewed on a roll. "Eh, who knows? Probably kick his ass a few times or something."

Inside the kitchen, Luffy was being chewed out by Zeff. But, as usual, he was being very stubborn.

"If you can't pay for the damage you caused, then you'll just have to work it off." Zeff said very plainly.

Luffy shook his head. "Not a chance. I've waited too long to be a pirate."

"You don't have a choice in the matter!" Zeff roared. "You'll have to work for me for a whole year to pay for everything! I've lost ten tables, 25 chairs, and the wall has a huge hole in it! Do you know how hard it is to replace those?! Especially out here on this sea?!"

Luffy shook his head again. "I'll work for you for a week, and that's it."

Zeff was getting angrier and angrier. "YOU DON'T GET TO DECIDE! **SPECIAL CHEF PEG LEG KICK**!" He yelled, kicking Luffy in the throat with his peg leg.

Luffy clenched his throat and gasped for air. He coughed, but eventually regained his composure. "I told you what I'll work for!" He insisted.

"Ugh. Fine, if you won't work for me then…" Zeff trailed off.

"CUT OFF YOUR FOOT AND LEAVE IT WITH ME!!" he exclaimed, pulling a hacksaw from nowhere.

"NO WAY!" Luffy shouted.

Zeff rubbed his forehead. "You are getting on my nerves, straw-hat boy." He mumbled. "I guess I'll just have to force you to work for me!"

Luffy stuck his finger in his ear to clean it. "How are you going to do that?" He asked.

"Simple…" Zeff snarled. "With my ultimate attack. **ULTIMATE CHEF PEG STOMP!!**" He yelled, kicking Luffy in the head with his peg leg, then stomping rapidly on his head and chest.

"OWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!!" Luffy cried "ALRIGHT! I'll work for you!"

Zeff stopped stomping on the rubber boy. "That's more like it. Follow me."

Luffy scrambled to his feet, rubbing his bruises and bumps. Zeff led him into the kitchen, where Sanji was busy putting the final touches on a chicken dish.

"Oi, shitty eggplant. This chore boy is going to work under you for the next year." Zeff said to Sanji.

The lanky chef looked up. "Hmm? That kid?" He sighed, putting another cigarette in his mouth and lighting it. "Whatever. As long as he doesn't get in my way." He picked up the dish and held it out for Luffy. "Here, take this-"

But it was too late. The minute the plate went into Luffy's hands, the food went into his mouth.

Sanji and Zeff roared and took turns kicking him down, with shouts of "Shithead!" and "Dumbass!"

And so, one beating later, Luffy was ready to begin his new career as a lowly chore boy. He failed a multitude of tasks that would be simple for anyone else. He broke nearly every dish he washed, and the ones that managed to stay intact were still covered with grease and old food. He burned his hand cleaning a wok that had just come off the burner. He swiped food that was supposed to go to customers.

Finally, the chefs in the kitchen got fed up with his problems. "SANJI, DEAL WITH YOUR LACKEY!!" They all yelled, placing the blame on him instead of Luffy.

Sanji grabbed Luffy by the shoulders and held him still. "Listen very carefully. Come with me outside and we'll take orders, alright? It's simple. Go up to a customer. Ask what they want. Remember it. And tell the chefs. Okay? Then when they're done cooking, you'll take that food to the customer WITHOUT eating it. Think you can do that?" He said condescendingly.

Usopp, Zoro, and Kuina saw the two of them leaving the kitchen. Unfortunately, for Luffy that is, they had a table not far from the kitchen doors.

Usopp tried to stifle his laughter, but to no avail. Soon, Zoro and Kuina joined in, laughing uncontrollably. Usopp leaned back in his chair, but the laughter caused him to lose his balance and he fell backwards. This caused them to laugh even harder.

"HEY, IT'S NOT FUNNY!" Luffy roared.

"Hee hee, so much for the Pirate King!" Zoro said through tears of laughter.

Eventually, they all managed to stop laughing and regain their composure. This, of course, did not mean they were above taking advantage of the situation.

"So, you're supposed to be our waiter?" Usopp asked. "Well, someone already took our order-"

"Fine, I'll go to another table!" Luffy interrupted, turning around.

Usopp grabbed his arm and stopped him. "Not so fast. We may have already gotten our food, but we've had our eye on that dessert menu."

Luffy pulled his arm away from Usopp's grasp. "Well, get someone else to do it."

Sanji saw that Luffy was not happy from across the restaurant, and noticed that the people sitting there were giving him a hard time and laughing about it. He approached the table. "Oi, Luffy, are these your crewmates?" He asked.

"They're my nakama, yeah. Although, they aren't acting like it." The strawhat boy explained.

Usopp, always wanting to be the center of attention, cleared his throat. "Excuse me, Mr. Chef. We were interested in ordering dessert, and I was wondering about-"

"Order it from your captain." Sanji said dismissively. His attention was drawn onto Kuina, who was reading about the different types of cakes available. "Ah, such a lovely blue flower has entered my presence! Please, if there is anything you want, do not hesitate to ask me! I am here to serve!"

"OI, THAT'S WHAT I JUST ASKED YOU!!" Usopp yelled to deaf ears.

Kuina didn't notice the blonde-haired man kneeling to her right with hearts in his eyes, eagerly awaiting her response. Usopp tried to say something, but Zoro hushed him.

"Let's see how long it takes her." He said.

Eventually, after about 30 seconds of silence, Kuina looked up and saw Sanji's face a foot and a half away from hers. She shrieked in surprise and nearly jumped out of her chair. The dessert menu flew out of her hands, striking Sanji in the face.

Meanwhile, back aboard Fullbody's ship, a panicked officer burst into the lieutenant's room, out of breath.

"Lieutenant Fullbody, sir!" He gasped. "The prisoner we captured! The one from Don Krieg's armada!"

Fullbody, still angry over the embarrassment the chef had put him through, seethed "What about him?"

"He's… He's missing sir! He must have escaped while we were at the Baratie!" The officer explained.

"Is that so? Well, there's not much we can do. That man was half dead when we found him, and he still was when I last saw him." Fullbody sighed. "It's the Baratie's problem now."

And it was the Baratie's problem. While the Strawhat pirates were laughing at Luffy's new business choice, a disheveled, filthy man entered the restaurant.

The ship became more and more silent as the customers noticed his entrance. Despite clearly being exhausted and starving, his eyes were focused, determined. They were the eyes of a killer. The heavy bags underneath them did nothing to detract from that idea. His hair was black and tangled, and the grey jacket he wore was covered in dust.

As he stumbled farther into the restaurant, he rubbed the unclean beard that was starting to grow on his face and collapsed into an empty chair. "Oi, isn't this a restaurant? Someone going to take my order?"

TO BE CONTINUED

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Zeff: Man, it's getting to the point where I can't go a day without having to replace furniture in this restaurant.

Luffy: Maybe you should build your furniture out of more sturdy stuff.

Sanji: We should build the chairs and tables out of steel instead of wood.

Zeff: That wouldn't work. They'd be too heavy for the wooden floors! And those get broken enough anyway! Not to mention the damage that gets done to the walls and doors.

Sanji: Well, let's just build the floors, the walls, and the doors out of steel too.

Zeff: Hmm… That's a good idea. Hey, wait a minute! No it isn't, that's a terrible idea!

Luffy: What's wrong with it?

Zeff: I can't afford to pay for all that!


	21. My Chef

Another Piece

Written By: Smerph Greenfox

Disclaimer: All characters, unless otherwise noted, are copyright of Eiichiro Oda.

Chapter 21: My Chef

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"Table, party of one." Patty said through gritted teeth. As he approached the table, his demeanor changed considerably. He put on a ridiculous smile and shouted cheerfully.

"Welcome to the Baratie, squid face!" He yelled. His heart was in the right place, but his style could use work. The next thing he said was "Let's talk about how you'll pay!"

The guest reached calmly into his pocket and withdrew a revolver. He pointed the gun directly at Patty's head and whispered "Do you take lead?"

Patty didn't even flinch. He had faced people like this ever since he started working here. "No, I can't say we do."

The customer squeezed the trigger slowly. Patty raised his massive arms above his head. Before the trigger could be squeezed all the way, Patty brought his arms down, crashing over the man's head. The force of the blow shattered the wooden chair underneath him. The man struggled to his feet, but to no avail.

"If you can't pay, you ain't no customer!" Patty roared, grabbing the man by his jacket and throwing him out of the door. "Customers are a restaurant's lifeblood!"

Whoever he was, he sailed out and landed on the restaurant's deck. The doors swung closed and Patty turned to the restaurant-goers. "Our lovely guests, enjoy the rest of your meals!" He yelled, curtseying.

Everyone resumed eating. This was a regular occurrence in the Baratie, and its customers knew it. The restaurant floated dangerously close to the Grand Line's entrance, so rogue pirates and bandits were nothing new.

Luffy turned to where Sanji was standing earlier, and found that he wasn't there.

"Eh? Where'd Sanji go?" He asked no one in particular. He began wandering off. He had something he needed to ask of the blonde-haired chef. Looking throughout the restaurant, Luffy aimlessly wandered in and out of rooms, ignoring every patron who attempted to call him over.

He eventually found Sanji outside the Baratie, talking to the man Patty had kicked out earlier.

A few minutes earlier, when Sanji had first disappeared, the would-be robber stumbled to the shambled ship he used to get to the Baratie.

"Oi." He heard a smooth, bored voice behind him. He turned around to see the blonde chef with a new cigarette in his mouth and a tray of fried rice in his hand.

He gasped, snatching the bowl from Sanji and devoured it, noisily. Tears began to well up in his eyes as he ate. "Delicious! Fantastic! Better than I deserve!"

"So it's good?" Sanji asked, his eyes shining. "It's just a bunch of leftovers."

"To make such a fantastic meal…" the robber trailed off.

Sanji leaned with his back against the ship's railing and took a drag off of his cigarette. "It's not in me to let someone starve at sea. Whoever they are, wherever they came from, no one deserves to die starving." He explained.

Luffy took this opportunity to make his presence known. "OI! There you are!" He shouted. He was currently leaning over the railing of the Baratie's second floor, staring down at the chef and the prisoner. He wasted no time with his next statement. "Hey, cook! Come be my chef!"

Sanji coughed as an unexpected gasp of air took in more smoke from his cigarette than he intended. "I'm… Sorry?" He coughed between words.

Luffy jumped down from the railing, stumbling as he miscalculated the fall and landed on his stomach. Without missing a beat, he picked himself back up and grinned. "I said come be the chef on my pirate crew."

"Not a chance." Sanji replied almost instantly. "I've still got work to do here. I refuse."

Luffy crossed his arms and grunted. "NO! _I_ refuse!"

"What?"

"I refuse your refusal! I already decided that you'd be my chef and that's that!" Luffy said with determination.

"It… It doesn't work like that…" Sanji mumbled.

The man stared at Luffy, wide-eyed. "Did you say you're a pirate?"

Luffy turned to him and proudly gestured to himself with his thumb. "You bet! Monkey D. Luffy is my name, and I'm going to be the Pirate King!"

"I'm Gin, one of the pirates on Don Krieg's ship. You say your aim is to be the Pirate King?" Gin finally introduced himself.

"Of course! It's been my dream for a long time!" Luffy shouted loudly.

Gin didn't seem impressed. "You can't have much of a crew if you're still looking for a chef."

Luffy pointed to Sanji with his thumb. "This guy makes five."

"OI, DON'T INCLUDE ME!" Sanji roared, delivering a kick to Luffy's head.

Gin stared intently at Luffy. "Listen to me." He said solemnly. "Give up on that goal. Don't go to the Grand Line." He put his head in his hands and began sweating. "With such a small crew, you wouldn't stand a chance. I've been there. The sea is devastating. It will devour you! Just give up now!" By now he was shaking and breathing heavily. "THAT PLACE IS NOTHING BUT A GRAVEYARD!!"

Luffy didn't say anything for a while. A smile began creeping along his face. He lowered his head, letting his straw hat shade his eyes.

"Sounds like fun." Luffy whispered quietly. "I can't wait to go there."

Gin's eyes widened. "Can't… wait to go there? Didn't you hear me?"

Luffy shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, I heard you. Doesn't matter, though. I said I would go to the Grand Line and that's that."

Gin gasped. Slowly, he began chuckling. "Well… Good luck. You'll need it. A lot of it." He looked over the railing and saw the small boat he stole to get from his prison ship to the Baratie. Without warning, he stood up and leaned onto the railing, forcing himself overboard and landed safely in his only means of transportation.

"Thanks for the meal, chef! Hope you don't catch too much flak for giving me a free meal!" He called out to Sanji.

"Free meal?" Sanji asked, laughing. He kicked the plate and silverware off the deck and into the ocean. "Where's the proof?"

With that, Gin began rowing to wherever it was he was going.

Sanji watched him for a few seconds, then turned around and grabbed Luffy's arm. "Come on, shitty help. We've got work to do inside."

For the next few days, Luffy struggled to do a passable job as a chef's assistant. He still swiped food, still broke dishes, and still mixed up orders. And his crew still laughed at him for it.

Sanji had taken an interest in Kuina. Over those past few days, he tried his best to woo her, but she usually didn't pay attention. One instance in particular led to a violent situation.

"OH, MY BEAUTIFUL KUINA-CHAN! I'D FOLLOW YOU TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH!! I'D GO SO FAR AS TO BE A PIRATE IF IT MEANT BEING NEAR YOU!!" Sanji shouted to deaf ears.

Someone, however, did hear him say that. Zeff had just emerged from the kitchen just as Sanji started his rant of love.

"Izzat so? Well, go on. Be a pirate. I don't need you here anymore. All you do is drag this restaurant down. Your cooking is absolutely atrocious."

Sanji responded with a kick to Zeff's jaw that sent the old man flying into an empty table.

"Shut the hell up, shitty old man! Don't you EVER insult my cooking!" He roared.

Meanwhile, Gin had finally managed to make his way back to his crew, finding it to be in shambles.

"Don Krieg, was this really the work of the Grand Line? All this damage? It's worse than I remember…" He asked his captain, sitting proudly at an enormous, ornate throne aboard the crew's flagship.

Don Krieg's body was hidden by poor lighting, but his massive figure still managed to overpower everything else in the room. Slowly, he rested his head on his hand. "Indeed." He spoke with a low, gravelly voice. "That vicious sea destroyed much of our fleet while you were away. It's a miracle in of itself that we can still sail."

Gin smiled. "Well, Captain. I have something that may interest you. I know the location of the Baratie, a massive ship that doubles as a restaurant! A cook there saved me when I was near death. I'll take you there, Don Krieg! Let me lead the way and save this army!" He said, his eyes shining.

It was difficult to tell, but Krieg's lips curled into a sinister smirk. "Very well, my loyal subordinate. Tell us our path."

TO BE CONTINUED

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Smerph: All right, time for an announcement! As some of you may have noticed, my style of writing reflects the terms and translations used primarily by the fansub group Kaizoku-Fansubs. Well, ever since I started watching FUNimation's fantastic dubbing work and playing One Piece: Unlimited Adventure, I've come to realize that I'm actually preferring the English voices over the Japanese ones! What this means is that I'm going to stop inserting random Japanese words into my chapters, stop using Japanese honorifics, and stop leaving most attacks untranslated. Upon rereading my chapters, I discovered how awkward it sounded when I read something like "GOMU GOMU NO… MUCCHI! (Whip)". Really, "GUM GUM WHIP!" works just as well and flows a lot nicer. However, don't be disheartened. I'm not going to start using "Zolo" or "Portgaz D. Trace" on you! And yes, Sanji will still smoke and still say "shit" a lot.

…

…

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And yes, I'll continue to use the word "nakama". I mean, after all, it _is_ a rather important word to the One Piece universe. I'm always striving to be a better writer, so if you've got any suggestions on where else I can improve, lemme know.


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